Stoner: Ducati start a dream come true

MotoGP world championship leader Casey Stoner has admitted the start to his Ducati career has been like a ‘dream come true’ as he goes in search of a third win in four races in this weekend’s China GP.

The Aussie arrived in Shanghai exuding confidence after his victories in Qatar and Jerez left him leading the series by 10-points from seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi.

The 21-year-old said: “It’s pretty much like a dream come true. After the first race this season, I didn’t really think things could get too much better.

“And in Jerez we sort of got back to reality and I really had to fight hard for the position that we had. Anyway, we got a good result. And in Turkey it was perfect.

“You know everything just went so well together. The bike and the tyres were unbelievable and it was just a matter of putting in the laps and doing the times.”

Stoner is hotly-tipped to figure prominently in the challenge for glory in Shanghai this Sunday, with fears his super-fast factory Ducati GP7 will overpower his rivals on the long straights.

The back straight in Shanghai is the longest on the GP calendar and while admitting he does have a clear advantage in terms of top speed, Stoner said the China track isn’t all about outright speed and horsepower.

“A lot of people are saying the Ducati is going to be extremely fast at this circuit. I think with the top speeds we have it’s going to help for sure.

“But we also need to think about the other parts of the track. It’s very tight and twisty and there’s going to be some very difficult parts.

“The first and second corners are really tight and complicated. At the end of the back straight there’s a lot of heavy braking and you really have to have your bike set up for this point.

“It’s really hard to set your bike up for this track in all those tight points, have the correct gearbox and still have the speed down the straight.”

The Ducati man said it wasn’t beyond the realms of fantasy to expect a clean sweep of the podium for them, given the GP7 claimed three out of the top four positions in Istanbul last month.

He added: “The straight is only one part of the circuit though and for sure we have some advantage so this will help our cause.

“But if we continue with the settings that we have in the past circuits, then Alex (Barros) is coming a lot faster and Loris (Capirossi) is back again, so I think there is always the possibility, but we have to beware.”