Stoner crafted race victory around fuel consumption

Casey Stoner almost made the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar look easy, but the Australian revealed after his third consecutive victory at the Losail International Circuit that a lot of concentration and adaptation was needed over the course of the 22-lap race.

A fuel consumption issue had Stoner modifying his style as he streaked out in front, and he explained afterwards that his turning up the heat later on was not a direct response to some fast times from rival Valentino Rossi.

“We had a very small problem with fuel consumption, and the team had told me that if it was possible I should run in a way that would help it out. I tried faster corner speeds and riding with higher gears, but from about lap ten it wasn’t enough,” said the Ducati Marlboro man. “I had to change my style again, but there were no problems after that.

Stoner regarded his 2008 win as a false dawn in his season, as the victory disguised some problems with the Desmosedici GP8 that took time in being resolved. This year, however, he sees himself as being in a much stronger position.

“Everything went perfect in preseason, and I’d like to start this year better than the last one, where we really struggled from this race up until basically the middle of the season. It would be nice to think that we can put up a little more of a fight right up until the end of the year,” said the 23 year-old.