Stoner becomes a father

Casey Stoner and his wife Adriana became proud parents yesterday with the birth of the first child, daughter Alessandra. The baby was born at a local hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the couple lives during the winter months. The news was confirmed by the Repsol Honda team with a brief message through Twitter that said: "We are very happy to announce that Alessandra Stoner was born on the 16th of February at 9:55pm, weighing 2.8 kilos. Both mother and baby are doing well".

The MotoGP World Champion’s first child was born the same day that Valentino Rossi celebrated his 33rd birthday, a coincidence that provoked many comments on the social networks yesterday.

Stoner still has a few days to enjoy his new family, as in two weeks he will travel to Malaysia to participate in the second Test of the pre-season at the Sepang circuit, where the count down to the start of the first race of 2012 continues.

Repsol Honda announced that fans who would like to congratulate the new parents may do so through Stoner’s blog.