Suppo: Stoner is making the difference

Livio Suppo has praised Casey Stoner saying it is the Australian’s talent and not Ducati’s top speed advantage that has carried the 21-year-old to the top of the MotoGP world championship.

The Marlboro Ducati team boss said Stoner’s second place on the grid for tomorrow’s 28-lap French GP proved that Stoner is just as competitive on tighter and twisty tracks as he is on fast circuits with long straights like Qatar and China.

Two of Stoner’s three victories in 2007, that see him go into tomorrow’s race with a 15-point lead over Valentino Rossi, came in Qatar and Shanghai, but Suppo told MCN: “Casey is making the difference. A fast bike still has to be ridden fast. He knows very well the bike has pretty good top speed but it is easy to see when the only fight he has been involved in has been with Rossi and the Yamaha. The top speed difference between the other bikes is not that big. On the TV against Yamaha it looks a big advantage but he wants to show that he is making the difference and he showed that. Of course for him to perform on a track with no long straight gives him extra motivation. And today’s result is an extra boost for him. He is very fast and we are confident he will be fighting for the podium.”

In contrast to Stoner’s red-hot form, team-mate Loris Capirossi is struggling to adapt to the new GP7 800 and he qualified in a lowly 15th position this afternoon.
Suppo confirmed to MCN that a new motor designed specifically to suit Capirossi’s riding style could be ready for the Mugello GP on June 3.

Suppo said: “We have to pay closer attention to Loris a little. He is suffering a lot in the slower corners. He exits the corner in a different rev range to Casey and in that range the throttle connection is not so good. He’s tried to ride like Casey but he can’t because its not so easy to adapt the style. We have to work on the power delivery for Loris to make it less aggressive but this is not easy. You don’t do this overnight.”