Casey Stoner excited by Honda 1000cc debut

Casey Stoner says he’s keen to gauge the performance of Honda’s new 1000cc prototype MotoGP bike he will debut in Jerez after this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

The Aussie will complete a one-day test on the RC212V 800cc replacement as Honda begins serious testing of the bike it will campaign in 2012.

Stoner’s Spanish team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who won the Portuguese MotoGP race earlier this month, will also get one day on the new bike in the behind-closed-doors test at the Jerez track in Spain.

When asked by MCN how much he was looking forward to his first ride on the new machine from HRC, 2007 world champion Stoner said: “I’m not that happy about testing a 1000 during a season in which we’re still racing 800s. I think it would be better to wait until the end of the season. But you can’t just develop a bike in a couple of months and have it out on track.”

“They need a bit more time than that. It is kind of exciting to get on the 1000 but you might not want to get back on the 800! It is going to be fun I’m sure but I’m looking forward more to next year to ride the bike.”

Ducati has already stolen a march on its rivals having had Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden assess the new GP12 machine in Jerez last month.

Yamaha will only give its 2012 bike to Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies to evaluate for the first time during a one-day test session scheduled to take place immediately after the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on July 4.