Improved tyre life boosts Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner reckons improved tyre life from Ducati’s new Big Bang GP10 motor will give his hopes of success in this year’s MotoGP world championship a massive boost.

The 2007 world champion, who is chasing a fourth straight victory under the Losail International Circuit floodlights on Sunday evening, said tyre endurance has improved dramatically with Ducati’s smoother and more rider-friendly 2010 motor.

The Aussie topped the timesheets at the recent night test in Qatar, said: “The new engine is a lot smoother off the bottom end. It was the biggest issue.

“The chassis we had at a very good point, but we just couldn’t get the bike hooked up out of the corners. So we needed that extra torque, the smoother engine delivery and we’ve definitely got that with the engine.

“Of course there’s a few small setbacks with the new engine. We’ve lost a slight bit of top speed, but I believe with the extra acceleration we’re getting out of the corners we’re not losing anything in the end anyway.

“The biggest difference is definitely at the end of our tyre life. In the past we wouldn’t drop down just a little bit in tyre performance, we’d drop down a lot. With this engine we actually don’t find almost any dropdown.

“It will be a lot easier to ride at the end of a race.”