Twice world motorcycling champion Casey Stoner stunned the sport by announcing he will quit at the end of the season for family reasons.
The 26-year-old Australian, who has won 35 MotoGP races in his career and leads the current standings after winning two of the season's three events, made his announcement at a news conference ahead of Monday's French Grand Prix.
Stoner, who also won the world title in 2007 with Ducati, became a father for the first time in February when his wife Adrianna gave birth to a baby daughter.
At the time he shrugged off suggestions that fatherhood would dampen his love of motorcycling.
