Unlike the traditional burn outs, seen after the end of the race in MotoGP, performed by rivals Rossi, Pedrosa & Lorenzo, Casey Stoner has burned himself out.

There is speculation in the MotoGP paddock that Casey is finished, suffering from a severe case of 'Rossiitis'. The paddock was buzzing with rumours at Brno, that Casey might not be back this year, or in fact ever.

The mystery illness could be psychological, or it could be ME (yuppie flu), also known as post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS), or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This can occur when a person over exerts themselves when suffering from a virus, or other illness. It's diffucult to diagnose (ther are no known tests), and even more diffucult to treat.

Whether he is burned out, has ME, or has difficulty accepting defeat, after winning a world championship, his doctors in Australia have advised him to sit out the next 3 rounds, to allow his body to recover from the stress. They say that Casey has been suffering from pressure associated with racing since the age of 4.

Do we have another Freddie Spencer here perhaps? Freddie also started racing at the age of four and was burned out by the age of 24 (the same age that Casey is now). Barry Sheen also got ill when Kenny Roberts cut short his reign in the 500cc World Championship back in the day in 1978. Learning to lose is a difficult skill to master, and a skill that Rossi has been able to learn, but maybe Casey still has to get a bit more practice.

Rossi, even said that he missed Casey already, and enjoyed the challenge Casey brought to the front of the grid, but clearly the feeling is not mutual.

Whatever the reasons for Caseys withdrawal, we think its unanimous that everybody would like to see him back as soon as possible, and maybe he should take life a little less seriously, he is only 24, there are at least another 10 good years for him, who gets to win anything in life let alone a MotoGP championship?