Mugello MotoGP: Brake issue caused Casey Stoner crash

A brake problem and not the return of a mystery front-end issue caused Casey Stoner’s early crash in the opening MotoGP practice session in Mugello this afternoon. 

Having crashed out of Qatar and Le Mans to severely dent his MotoGP title aspirations in 2010, Stoner was down in the gravel again after just seven minutes of the session. 

The 24-year-old lost control on the bumps in the hard braking zone for the final corner and ran off track.

Unable to scrub off enough speed, Stoner ploughed through the gravel trap for a few metres before losing control.

At the time he was experimenting with a set of 2009 Ohlins front forks that he’s using in Mugello to try and solve the front-end issues that have seriously undermined his early title challenge.

Stoner said: “I tried the ‘09 forks first thing to get an understanding with them and came out of the fast Esses and just had a little bit of a shake and as I went into the last corner I realised my brakes had gone.  It has happened to me a few times this year.

“After that we came in and we just wanted to make sure the bike was all good. I went out on the bike I’ve been using at the last races and didn’t have such a good feeling.

“I didn’t want to put too much time into that bike, so we went out on the other bike again with the old forks and unfortunately there must have been a stone or something in it. It kept locking up the front-end so every time I went to tip into a corner there was just no steering.

“There was something wrong with it from when I dropped it in the gravel and we just never got in any laps. We’d go out and try one lap and it wasn’t right and then go out on the other bike to get a better understanding again but it still didn’t feel good. It was just one of those days.”

Elaborating further on his brake issue, Stoner said: “It happens quite a lot. With the Brembo brakes from this year they are new compared to last year. We’ve had the same problem since Sepang in testing. When we come out of a headshake we’ve got nothing left.

“All the pads open up and when we go to brake there is just nothing there. We have to wait for them to pump up again but when you’re going into another corner it is impossible.

“In Sepang it happened a few times and a little bit in Qatar but because we weren’t getting headshakes it was ok. It’s mainly the faster tracks where you get on a rough kerb or come out and have a bit of a moment.

“The pads will separate and there is nothing there. If the brakes were fine I’d have made the corner no problem. There was no way I was going to stop, so I pulled it as hard into my fingers as I could but we had nothing to stop.

“I thought I could run it round the edge but as soon as I got in the gravel I realised I was going to quick. I tried to bank it over but just lost it.”

Stoner said he had not had enough time to gauge whether the switch back to the 2009 Ohlins was a positive mood and he said: “I did think the feeling was a little bit more harsh but it also gave me more feedback. It’s not quite as smooth as the other forks but the turning was the same.

“I just had a more aggressive feel but we’ll try it in both bikes tomorrow and try and get a really good set-up for it. We know they work with this bike so I am not worried about them working.

“With the new forks I’m struggling a little bit this weekend. From the first exit as soon as I released the brake at turn three the front went to close on me and that’s not what I wanted right now. Hopefully with the old forks we can at least get some understanding and some direction.”