Casey Stoner Leaving Ducati for Honda

Added on Friday, July 9th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Ducati has confirmed that Australian rider Casey Stoner will be leaving the team at the end of the MotoGP World Championship to join Honda.

The move for the 24-year-old has been highly anticipated since the end of last season when team boss Livio Suppo joined the management team at HRC. Rumour was rife that Stoner would soon be following.

Ducati will be losing a great championship rider but it’s hoped that his move to the Honda team will end its unlucky streak in the premier class – they’ve only won one world title in the past seven years and have no world championships under their belt.

Stoner has secured plenty of victories for the Japanese team, having won the first ever 800cc Grand Prix in Qatar and had nine more victories in 2009, defeating Valentino Rossi. His 2007 championship made MotoGP history as he became the second youngest MotoGP world champion and was the first European manufacturer win in over thirty years.

The Australian has said that he is grateful to Ducati for transforming him into a MotoGP world champion, after joining the team as a crash prone rookie.

He said: “I must thank Ducati for giving me such a great opportunity to race and win with them over these past four years.. They took a gamble when they signed me at the end of 2006 as I was unknown, but as we worked together we were able to win a championship, many races and challenge for the championship in the last two seasons.”

“I have now decided to move on and I will have new challenges in the future and different obstacles to overcome, but I will not forget these years with Ducati and the people I have had the privilege to work so closely with. So a big thanks to Ducati and all our sponsors who we have shared success with while achieving lifelong goals” he added.

Ducati’s team boss, Filippo Preziosi, said they were thankful for Stoner’s efforts over the past seasons, saying; “In Casey we not only found an incredibly talented rider, but also an honest and loyal guy and that’s why there will always be a strong and sincere bond between us, even as a competitor.”

Stoner’s last race with the team will be at the Valencia Grand Prix in November.

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