Australia's Casey Stoner will be driving a V8 sports car in 2013 following his retirement from MotoGP.

Story highlights

Motorcycling star Casey Stoner confirms his switch to sports car racing

Two-time MotoGP world champion will drive a V8 Supercar this year

Stoner criticizes some MotoGP fans for their behavior, saying he was spat at

Australian says he "fell out of love" with motorcycling after 10-year career

Former motorcycling star Casey Stoner has ended speculation about his future by confirming he will switch to four wheels to drive in a V8 Supercar, but not before taking a sideswipe at officials and fans.

The two-time world champion quit the elite MotoGP class at the end of the 2012 season, having announced his premature departure last May.

“I just fell out of love with the sport. We had a lack of respect from a lot of people around the sport and I didn’t like the direction it was taking,” he was quoted in Australia’s Daily Telegraph newspaper on the same day he confirmed his new career move on Twitter.

“We got spat at (by fans), they tried to knock us off scooters going from the motor homes to the pits, everything like that.”

The 27-year-old Australian said the death of Italian star Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2011 had also been a major factor in his decision.

“We lost a rider a couple of years ago and within a month it was like it never happened,” Stoner claimed.

“They want to see biff and barge and they don’t realize our lives are on the line. We became puppets in that world and it had nothing to do with racing.”

Stoner will drive for Red Bull Racing Australia in 2013, competing in a car which won the 2010 edition of the famous Bathurst motor race.

He tweeted: “Very happy to have a chance to race with @redbullracingAU in the Dunlop Series this year. Looking forward to getting on track at Clipsal!”

Stoner, who has previously tested sports cars, will initially compete in a development series.

His former arch rival in MotoGP, Italian legend Valentino Rossi has also been linked in the past with a move to four wheels with Ferrari.

But seven-time champion Rossi has stayed loyal to MotoGP and will return to Yamaha for the 2013 season.

Meanwhile, Stoner will carry over his famous No.27 from his former sport into motor racing.

Injuries from a crash in May cost him the chance of winning a third world title last season, but he signed off for Repsol Honda with a win in front of his home fans at Philip Island in November.

He started out in the 125cc class in the early 2000s before moving up to MotoGP in 2006, and won the world title the following year and again in 2011.