Casey Stoner Completes First Laps Back With Ducati
Rennie Scaysbrook | January 30, 2016
Stoner was not long into his first ride and already looking very comfortable on the Desmosedici.
Australian Casey Stoner has completed an emotional return to the Ducati factory with a single day’s outing on the Desmosedici GP16 at Sepang in Malaysia. Ducati’s only world champion in the MotoGP category was elated with being back on a MotoGP machine, one he described as a massive change from his previous Ducati steed, where he set a best time of 2:02.1s. That time, in just his first test as a new Ducati rider and having not ridden a MotoGP bike for over a year, was just over three seconds off Dani Pedrosa’s pole time at the 2015 Malaysian MotoGP at the same track.
Stoner (left) and Michelle Pirro (right) are charged with developing the Desmosedici into a race winner.
“It’s been a really good experience today with the Ducati Team,” Stoner said at the conclusion of his first day. “I wasn’t too sure what to expect but everybody has been fantastic, welcoming me and working with me to try and get the best out of myself and this bike. I need some time to get back to speed and get the feeling back, because I haven’t ridden a MotoGP bike for one year and any bike at all for six months. It was a very productive first day; we got comfortable with the bike and the tyres a lot more quickly than I thought I would. We’ve got a lot of things to test and get myself a little bit more acquainted with the bike but generally I’m very happy. The Desmosedici GP has a lot of potential, hopefully we can give the right input and help the two Andreas to try and achieve something great this year. I’m pretty happy and surprised with my lap time to be honest, hopefully the next day we can be a bit more comfortable after sleeping on it. It’s been fantastic working with Gabriele (Conti) again and with Marco (Palmerini) and Gigi (Dall’Igna): everyone has been really professional. So far, so good!”
Not many people ever thought they’d see this picture again!
After the tech briefing, it was decided Stoner would not run on Sunday as originally planned and instead will return to the track for one day during the official MotoGP test next week, with Tuesday the most likely option. That means he’ll be on track with all other MotoGP riders and have a timing transponder, a mouth-watering prospect for everyone who is waiting to see how the 30-year-old Australian measures up against the current crop of MotoGP riders.
