Stoner thanks fans for the congratulations

Casey Stoner thanked all those who sent the many congratulations and well wishes received for the recent birth of his first child through his blog on the Repsol website.

"After what seemed like the longest wait in history, our little girl Alessandra Maria finally arrived on Thursday 16 February at 21:55. Weighing in at 2.8kg the birth went very well and both Adriana and I are so happy to welcome our 'Ally' into the World, she's so perfect!" wrote Stoner, who offered details on being a new parent:

"This weekend has been spent getting to know each other and acclimatising to one another, but now we're starting to get in sync and she sleeps so well and has been a dream so far," explained the 2011 MotoGP World Champion, adding: "I'd like to thank all our family, friends and fans for their heartfelt comments and well wishes, they all mean so much."

Stoner reveals that he is "trying to do a little training and spend as much time as possible with Ally and Adriana". Next weekend, he will travel to Malaysia for the second official MotoGP Test in Sepang. In 2012 the Australian faces an unprecedented challenge in the modern era of motorcycling: Defending his premier class title while being a father. He will be the first to attempt this feat since three times World Champion Wayne Rainey did so from 1990 to 1992.