Ducati boss: Casey Stoner sorry at shock absence

Ducati boss Livio Suppo has confirmed that Casey Stoner has withdrawn from the MotoGP world championship for at least the next three races.

And Suppo said Stoner was sorry the on-going mystery illness that has plagued him since the Catalunya round in early June had forced him to pullout of the Brno, Indianapolis and Misano races.

Stoner is not expected back until the Estoril clash in Portugal at the earliest in early October as he continues to undergo treatment for a virus that has left him with nausea and chronic fatigue for the last eight weeks.

Suppo said: “Casey is very sorry that he is not able to race, especially as he feels the bike is very competitive. But he said he needs to fix this problem and come back at full strength for Estoril.  It is one thing to stop if you are struggling but even more difficult when you know you are capable of winning.”

Suppo said that by withdrawing from the next two races, the 2007 world champion had given himself another eight weeks to recuperate ahead of the Portugal round.
He added:

“With the way the calendar falls it means that it will be two months break for Casey to complete further tests and treatment with doctors in Australia.  At the moment it is very difficult to put an exact cause on this but it is some sort of viral infection.”