Stoner not fazed by Le Mans challenge

MotoGP world championship leader Casey Stoner has shrugged off suggestions his factory Ducati will struggle to continue its stunning pace in Le Mans this weekend.

Two of Stoner’s three victories in the opening four races came in Qatar and Shanghai on fast tracks that played into the hands of the superior top speed and horsepower of his GP7 machine.

Le Mans, venue for Sunday’s French GP, is a much tighter circuit but the 21-year-old said top speed wasn’t everything in his quest to extend his series lead over Valentino Rossi.

“We didn’t have an advantage in Turkey and we didn’t have in Jerez, but still the Ducati performed excellently, so I don’t think we need to go to tracks with big long straights just for the Ducati to do well.

“We’ll see how we go this weekend but we should be able to do a reasonably good result,” said Stoner, who leads Rossi by 15-points.

Stoner said the horsepower advantage would help him exit some of the tight hairpin corners at Le Mans but added: “Everybody has been saying how fast the Ducati is and when we get to the straights it does pull out.

“I’ve never denied it no matter what people might think. I said we just didn’t have a speed advantage at a couple of circuits. For sure we have got a bike with a lot of bottom end power but one thing with having all that power is putting it to the ground.

“That’s something we are working with everything on the bike, getting bike to hook up and exit corners. At this circuit it might be a little bit harder but we should be able to come up with a solution and set-up that works at this circuit.”

Stoner commented he wasn’t feeling like a marked man now he leads the series and added: “I don’t think people are after me. It’s still very early days and we’ve had a great start but it is a long season.

“I’m still riding the same as I was last year and going into the race with the same mentality. I’m a little bit more confident with my machinery and my tyres but we are still pushing to do the same job with the same amount of effort.

“Now I’m finally getting some rewards but it’s been an unbelievable start and it would be nice to continue that for as long as we can.”