MotoGP: Casey Stoner waiting for wind solution

Casey Stoner believes a smaller fairing could have made a massive difference after the Aussie succumbed to a majestic Valentino Rossi display in Assen at the Dutch MotoGP last weekend.

Stoner reckons smaller bodywork might have given him as much as 0.5s a lap as he lost out to Valentino Rossi for only the third time in nine races.

While Casey Stoner’s aerodynamics are unquestionably the best in a straight line, with his GP7 a missile on the straight, in windy conditions he is buffeted around too much.

A feature of Saturday’s Dutch MotoGP was the strong and unpredictable wind and Casey Stoner confirmed when asked by MCN a revised fairing might have helped him mount a more serious threat to Valentino Rossi. 

Ducati has been working on new bodywork for months as Casey Stoner confirmed he’s been asking for a smaller aerodynamic package since the start of the season.

“They are working on it. They’ve been wind tunnel testing but nothing that is capable of going on the bike yet,” said Casey Stoner.

“They have had the same fairing for a lot of years. Sure it works well when we are in a straight line, its great for the aerodynamics.

“But maybe for some circuits where it really does get hard to change direction and the wind starts to blow we really need to start thinking about getting a fairing that works well in those conditions.

“It hindered me just a little bit in Assen. We still got second position so I can’t complain. But with a smaller fairing I could have gone maybe 0.5s a lap faster and taken the battle to the end,” Casey Stoner told MCN.