Ducati MotoGP boss admits Casey Stoner exceeding expectations

Casey Stoner’s Ducati boss has admitted the Australian’s brilliant performances in the 2007 MotoGP world championship have gone well beyond pre-season expectations.

Livio Suppo reckons he thought the impressive 21-year-old would win two or three races in 2007. But Stoner has enjoyed incredible success on the new GP7 800, winning four out of the opening seven races to take a 14-point series lead over Valentino Rossi going into this weekend’s British MotoGP at Donington Park.

Casey Stoner has already scored more points in seven races in MotoGP than he did in the entire 2006 campaign for the LCR Honda squad and Suppo said: “I knew he was a great talent so I thought if he could win two or three races this year it would have been a great result.”

Suppo added that Casey Stoner’s talent is currently making the difference, with his stunning Catalunya MotoGP success easily the best of the new 800cc premier class era.

“For sure at the moment he is in superb form. It’s not easy to be on top at this level and there are really only a few guys who are able to do it.

“The fact they believe in what they have and they are positive like Casey is at the moment the more they win.

“And the more they win they believe even more in their potential. That’s been the secret of Valentino in these years. Of course after a race like Catalunya, if Casey believed in himself before, now he’s moved to another level,” said Suppo.