Stoner itching to get started in Qatar
Added on Thursday, April 8th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Stoner itching to get started in Qatar
Casey Stoner admitted that he is looking forward to finally getting the season underway this weekend at a track which holds very happy memories.
The Ducati rider, second favourite for the championship, has a superb record at the Losail International circuit where he has won the last three Grand Prix’s with relative ease and is widely expected to begin the 2010 campaign with a victory this weekend.
Stoner finally got the better of rival Valentino Rossi in the second day of testing in Doha last month and the 2007 champion is ready to get started this weekend and begin his challenge to topple Rossi in 2010, particularly after seeing his title challenge last season hindered by a serious illness that forced him to miss three rounds of the season.
“We have always enjoyed great results in Qatar although the track isn’t one of my favourites as a rider,” he said. “It was good that they changed the race from daytime to night because they’ve made it different to anything else – it’s interesting for the fans and it is good fun for us.
“Ducati have come up with a much more manageable engine for this season, it is easier for everybody to understand and from my point of view I am finding it easier to ride fast on used tyres. We have made progress with the set-up ever since the first test at Sepang and we’re happy with what we have going into the first race. I will give my maximum as always but it is only the first race of a very long season that will only start to take shape from the third or fourth round.”
