Photo: Ducati
Claudio Domenicali, Ducati’s CEO, declared that Casey Stoner, the factory's all-new MotoGP test rider, is not expected to take part in any premier class racing event in 2016.
MotoGP Legend Casey Stoner arrived in Bologna and met with his old (and new) family at the Ducati headquarters. We recently reported that Stoner and Honda mutually agreed to bring their contract to an end, and seeing the Australian making a move with Ducati was confirmed shortly after that moment.
After his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season, Stoner got involved with V8 supercar racing in Australia and spent a lot of time with his family and fishing around the world. Still, he remained in touch with Honda Racing Corporation and tested their MotoGP and CBR1000RR/SP bikes on multiple occasions.
This year, the relationship between Stoner and HRC started to grow colder after the Japanese maker denied his request to substitute for Dani Pedrosa, one of the two factory riders who had undergone surgery.
So, when Dani Pedrosa had arm pump surgery and was confirmed to be unable to race for 4 to 6 weeks, Stoner thought he could help Repsol Honda, substituting for him at least in one race. HRC was not exactly thrilled to see Stoner changing his mind, and declined his offer.
Later this summer, a mechanical error caused Stoner to crash at high speed in the Suzuka 8 Hour race, suffering multiple injuries. After Stoner refused the wildcard offer HRC made, the rumors about Stoner being fed up with HRC started to grow and were confirmed during the fall.
Still, it looks like Stoner will stick to his duties as a test rider for Ducati this year, if we are to believe Claudio Domenicali. Whether this will be true remains to be seen. Now that Ducati has a competitive motorcycle, which is also expected to become better for 2016, it's hard to tell if they will miss the opportunity to see how good the development GP16 or the early GP17 machine is in rear race conditions.
Claudio Domenicali has also said that Ducati's main goal for the next MotoGP season is to win at least two races, insella reports.
After his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season, Stoner got involved with V8 supercar racing in Australia and spent a lot of time with his family and fishing around the world. Still, he remained in touch with Honda Racing Corporation and tested their MotoGP and CBR1000RR/SP bikes on multiple occasions.
This year, the relationship between Stoner and HRC started to grow colder after the Japanese maker denied his request to substitute for Dani Pedrosa, one of the two factory riders who had undergone surgery.
HRC's refusal to grant Stoner a ride in MotoGP is regarded as one of the key moments that led to the separation between the two
Stoner is well-known for his hostile attitude towards premier class racing and he repeatedly declared that he would not return to MotoGP, not even as a wildcard entry.So, when Dani Pedrosa had arm pump surgery and was confirmed to be unable to race for 4 to 6 weeks, Stoner thought he could help Repsol Honda, substituting for him at least in one race. HRC was not exactly thrilled to see Stoner changing his mind, and declined his offer.
Later this summer, a mechanical error caused Stoner to crash at high speed in the Suzuka 8 Hour race, suffering multiple injuries. After Stoner refused the wildcard offer HRC made, the rumors about Stoner being fed up with HRC started to grow and were confirmed during the fall.
Still, it looks like Stoner will stick to his duties as a test rider for Ducati this year, if we are to believe Claudio Domenicali. Whether this will be true remains to be seen. Now that Ducati has a competitive motorcycle, which is also expected to become better for 2016, it's hard to tell if they will miss the opportunity to see how good the development GP16 or the early GP17 machine is in rear race conditions.
Claudio Domenicali has also said that Ducati's main goal for the next MotoGP season is to win at least two races, insella reports.
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