Positive focus for Stoner after non-start

Sunday, 8 November 2009

His failure to start the race in Valencia was a disappointing end to Casey Stoner’s season, but the Australian chose to take what he could from his experience on Sunday.

Casey Stoner was left in reflective mood after a high-side spill on his warm-up lap at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana meant he was unable to take his pole position on the grid.

It was a frustrating end to the season for the 24 year-old, who had come back from an absence due to fatigue to score a second-placed finish and two wins in his last three races.

Aiming for a third straight win in Valencia after his triumphs at Phillip Island and Sepang, a problem with the tyre temperature of the Ducati Marlboro rider’s Desmosedici GP9 saw him thrown from his machine, leaving him unable to start the 17th and final Grand Prix of the 2009 campaign.

“Obviously this is a frustrating and disappointing way to finish the season. There have been plenty of highs and lows throughout the year and we have ended on a low, but with another lesson learnt for next season,” said Stoner.

“We have had this strategy for two years and not had a problem until today so I guess it is better it happened here than in the first race of next season in Qatar! The important thing is that after back-to-back wins in Australia and Malaysia we have shown our pace here at Valencia and we know we have everything in place to be competitive next season if we do the job right over the winter. Now I am looking forward to working on the bike over the next three days and then spending a couple of months building up my physical fitness, which I haven’t been able to dedicate myself 100% to for such a long time.”

Looking forward to next season, Stoner continued, “We know it will be hard next year but we are confident that we can be back and fighting again. I want to give my personal thanks to everybody in the team – to Filippo (Preziosi, Ducati Corse Technical Director) and everybody at Ducati Corse for giving me a bike that was competitive even when I wasn’t and for working to make sure it was firing on all cylinders when I came back. I also want to thank Livio Suppo (Team Manager), who is leaving the team, for all the support he has given me since I joined Ducati and especially during the difficult moments this season.”