Stoner hoping for better luck in German MotoGP clash

MotoGP world championship leader Casey Stoner is hoping for better fortunes in Sunday’s (July 15) Sachsenring MotoGP clash when he kicks off the second half of the season 21-points clear of Valentino Rossi.

The Australian is hoping to erase the bitter memory of his 2006 German GP experience, when he was at the centre of controversy.

Stoner missed last year’s race when doctors refused him permission to ride after he suffered a big crash in the Sunday morning warm-up session.

Casting his 2006 disappointment aside, Stoner said: “The track is a bit different and I’ve normally gone OK there in the past. This year I’ve been going better than ever. So there’s always a good chance for a good result. Loris (Capirossi) was fast in a few sessions last year so the Ducati obviously works well around there. Last year felt I could have got top five. Maybe not battling for the podium but I was doing pretty good lap times. It’s the track where I got my first ever podium on a 125 so it shouldn’t too much of a problem.”

Stoner has proved already on numerous occasions that he is fast straight out of the gate on Ducati’s GP7 with the 21-year-old victorious in five of the opening nine races in 2007.

He added: “Last year I had a few problems. Each time I went on the bike it was a completely different feeling. I was told tyres from Friday to Saturday were the same tyres but the feeling was completely different and it was the same going into the race. This year it’s like ‘right I’m on these tyres and I know what the feeling is and what the bike is going to do.’

“I’m not confident that we can go out there and go very fast but I’m confident in the tyres and machinery and what its going to do. It always feels the same. Sometimes you start good and end up bad on a weekend and other times you start bad and end up good.”