Brno MotoGP: Casey Stoner reckons Valentino Rossi won’t be distracted by tax probe

MotoGP world championship leader Casey Stoner reckons a multi-million pound tax evasion investigation will not distract title rival Valentino Rossi from trying to overhaul the Aussie to claim an eighth world title in 2007.

Valentino Rossi goes into Sunday’s Czech Republic MotoGP race trailing Ducati rider Casey Stoner by 44-points.

But the Italian star has mounting problems off track too as he got embroiled in a £40m tax evasion probe by Italian authorities during the summer break.

Valentino Rossi didn’t speak to reporters yesterday on the eve of the Brno MotoGP clash but Casey Stoner believes the five-times premier class world champion won’t let the tax investigation distract him from trying to claw back some ground on the 21-year-old’s commanding points lead.

“As far as I know we are still here to race bikes. I’m sorry to hear this kind of thing but I’m sure he’s still here to race bikes and win races,” said Stoner.

“There’s no doubt that he’s still going to be the same competitive Valentino that we always see. We know what Valentino can do and what he can pull out of the bag, especially when he needs to.

“But I believe we have the package and I feel very confident in myself to finish off the job. But I’m not saying we’ve won it yet because there’s a long way to go and we need to win some more races before the end of the season.”