Casey Stoner’s 2010 season so far

For a rider who sets himself such high personal standards the start of the 2010 season for Casey Stoner was not what the Australian would have expected, but with equal measures of determination, hard work and experience the 24 year-old former World Champion recovered some ground towards the end of the first half of 2010 and is currently fourth in the standings on 103 points.

His previous winning form in Qatar and domination of the round one weekend by topping all sessions in the lead up to the first race of the season made Stoner the favourite to start the 2010 season with a win at Losail. An early crash when leading the race meant there was no fourth consecutive win at the circuit however, and after a fifth place at Jerez there was another DNF at Le Mans in round three as Stoner battled front end issues on his Desmosedici GP10.

Fourth at Ducati’s ‘home’ GP at Mugello and fifth at Silverstone followed, before third at Assen delivered an overdue first podium of the campaign which set the wheels in motion for a consistent latter stage of the first half of the season.

Repeat third positions at Catalunya and Sachsenring – where Stoner held off the returning Valentino Rossi in a battle for the final podium spot – were results which settled Stoner back into a rhythm and he signed off for the mid-season summer interval with a best result of the season at Laguna Seca, placing second.

Just before round nine Stoner’s plans for the 2011 season were announced as a deal with HRC was confirmed, and his concentration now remains focused on the remainder of the current season as he seeks to end his four-year Ducati stay on a high. Few would doubt that Stoner will do so in style given his proven winning mentality in seasons gone by, and having displayed his pace throughout 2010 so far.