“This morning was really difficult, I really didn't feel comfortable on the bike. My wrist is still in a lot of pain and I honestly hoped it would be in better shape than this after three months since the operation. Even though the lap times were good from the start the wrist was still giving me a lot of problems - it is weak and painful under braking, especially in the first left-hand turn,” said Stoner after this morning's session.
“I can't do more than four or five laps at a time and there's nothing I can do about that at the moment, other than hope that it improves over time. Sepang is a physically demanding circuit and probably not the best place to be riding for the first time after three months out. I preferred not to ride too much and tire myself out and hopefully it will already be a bit better tomorrow. Freddy, our physiotherapist, has a bit of work to do tonight,” added Stoner.
Much like rivals Yamaha, Ducati seem to have improved their bike's speed when exiting slow corners. Stoner reckons that the new Ducati is much faster on the aforementioned sector, as it now features an all-carbon fiber frame that helped reduce bike's overall weight.
“The chassis is completely different and we'll have to work on improving the set-up but we have a good starting point and we can use the GP8 as a reference. The power delivery has improved and now we have more torque, which helps on the exit of the slower corners,” concluded Stoner.
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