Jerez MotoGP: Casey Stoner eyes first Jerez rostrum

Casey Stoner is confident he can end his Jerez podium jinx this weekend as he goes in search of his first top three finish in the Spanish MotoGP.

The Aussie kicked off the defence of his world crown in brilliant fashion earlier this month with a dominant victory in the historic floodlit Qatar clash, and is now seeking a debut podium in Jerez.

Casey Stoner was only fifth in Jerez in 2007 and the Spanish venue is the only circuit other than Indianapolis on the calendar where he hasn’t scored a podium in any class.

And looking ahead to his bid for a 12th win in 20 races for Ducati, the 22-year-old said: “We struggled here last year for sure.

“We weren’t really up to speed round the right and twisty tracks at the start of last year, but we had all of last season to get everything to work with the chassis.”

Casey Stoner also reckons bottom end power delivery improvements on his factory Ducati GP8 will help him for Sunday’s 27-lap race.

Stoner added: “Now we have a bit more acceleration from the engine we punch out of these tight corners a bit harder.

“I have never finished on the podium here but I have scored in every race bar one inside the top six so it has been a good point-scoring race for me and I’ll be giving it 100 per cent to make sure that continues this weekend.”