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Casey Stoner May Have Green Light to Substitute for Petrucci, If He Wants

Casey Stoner has the green light from Ducati if he wants to race, Paolo Ciabatti says. However, making the call is up to Stoner and him alone, with Ducati refraining from making too many comments about this possibility.
Petrucci and Stoner 1 photo
Photo: gpone.com
Obviously, Stoner would step in for injured satellite rider Danilo Petrucci, who is not recovering fast enough. The other option is, of course, the other Ducati test rider, Michele Pirro.

Octo Pramac Yakhnich's rider Danilo Petrucci tried his hand (pun intended) last week aboard his bike at the Losail circuit in Qatar, but it only took him two Free Practice sessions to understand that his hand was nowhere near healed well enough to allow him to race.

In FP3, he could barely operate his bike and had to call it quits. He flew back to Italy to the Policlinico di Modena and was checked by professor Catani. The first investigations revealed that his hand might need a new surgery, and that would render Petrucci unavailable for both upcoming rounds in Argentina and at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX.

Stoner is also in Qatar, where Ducati will conduct a private test. The Australian rider will be aboard a GP15 machine first, but he will also ride the Desmosedici GP16 in the Losail test.

Ducati's first option when it comes to substituting is, of course, Pirro, who has been doing so for years. In 2015, Pirro raced in three Grand Prix events, earning 12 points. He finished the season in the 21st position, 4 points adrift Nicky Hayden and three ahead of Eugene Laverty.

Now, Mr. Ciabbatui says that Ducati will not mention anything to Stoner, because he already knows too well how things roll. He adds that Stoner's main concern these days is to test bikes, and if he expresses his willingness to substitute for Petrucci, Ducati will be ready to see what they can do, gpone reports. Bets on Stoner in Argentina, anyone? Will he take a Ducati where Honda forbid him to ride?
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