Stoner: Ducati Going Strong at Motegi

Despite losing his first practice session of the 2009 season at Motegi, earlier today, Australian rider Casey Stoner revealed he is content with the pace of his Ducati during its first outing on the Japanese track. The 2007 MotoGP champion finished the morning session only 0.056 seconds behind title rival/holder Valentino Rossi, a result that boosted his confidence ahead of the Motegi race on Sunday.

Nevertheless, Stoner admitted Ducati's good results in the Japanese GP practice sessions – his anyway, as teammate Nicky Hayden scored only the 13th best time – could mean nothing if the rain starts pouring down the Motegi circuit, as forecasted for the Sunday race.

“We're not too far from setting some very decent lap times and considering how cold it was this afternoon I think everything has gone as well as we could have expected. It looks as though the weather forecast is not good for tomorrow so this session might not turn out to be so important in terms of qualifying, but then if it's dry again on Sunday it could turn out to be crucial,” said Stoner.

“In general the bike feels quite good - we need to try and find a bit more grip on the rear and we have a few ideas that we think could work - but now it's just a case of seeing what the heavens throw at us tomorrow and dealing with that as best we can,” added the Australian.

Stoner will be looking to score his first win at Motegi this weekend, as the Ducati rider is yet to clinch a Japanese Grand Prix trophy in his MotoGP career. His best result here is a runner-up place during last year's event.