“Being married has helped my racing.”

“Even in motocross, you're struggling to see people pass each other anymore. There seems to be one line in motocross.”

“Even now with the operation, with the damage done, my ankle probably is never going to be back to 100 per cent.”

“Everyone seems quite good at stories and making them up.”

“I can only do what I can do.”

“I have been going from one racetrack to another for years, since I was 14.”

“I have been interested in V8s for a long time.”

“I have broken my collarbone twice in a year.”

“I never really look too far ahead, to be honest.”

“I think I don't really have any expectations; I don't look at the season as a whole - I look at it race by race.”

“I think there is no defending a title. You don't go into a season with a points advantage over anyone. So I don't think it's ever a title defence. I think you've got a different number on your bike, if you choose so, but everyone starts at zero again.”

“I'm good at separating my personal life from racing. When I'm at track, it's race time; when I'm away from it, other than the fact I'm training to be fit for it, there is nothing at home that makes me even want to think about racing. I just want to enjoy my life, and by the time the next race comes around, I'm ready and excited for it.”

“I'm not always going to keep waiting for a fairytale ending.”

“I'm very thoughtful, and when I make a decision I usually stick to it.”

“In 2007, people tried to belittle me a little bit and sort of take the credit away from me and my team and what we achieved.”

“I've always known there's more to life than just racing for a long time.”

“I've said many times in the past that my career's not going to go on much longer; I'm not going to keep going and riding until I'm in my 30s and things like this.”

“Once I decided to retire from bikes, there was no thought to go racing again. I wanted to have a full year off and maybe even see the world a bit.”

“People are telling me I might be going back to MotoGP, but a rumour is a rumour.”

“People can be great competitors on Sunday and mates on Monday.”

“The money doesn't interest me. I'm not enjoying MotoGP, and I'm retiring.”

“There are a lot of good guys that I race against, and that's what I enjoy the most.”