Fitness boost for Stoner

Aussie Casey Stoner will go into his debut season with Ducati’s factory MotoGP squad confident a punishing winter training regime will help make him a more formidable opponent in 2007.

Stoner was forced to miss a big chunk of his training schedule last winter because of shoulder surgery that forced him to miss nine days of pre-season testing. But, injury-free during this winter, Stoner has been building up his strength to master the physically demanding GP7 800.

He said: “Each I normally get fit in the summer break in Australia but this year I put in an extra effort. Last year I had to cancel my training because I had the shoulder injury and that put me backwards from the beginning. Since the end of last year I have been training really hard and getting ready for this season.” 

Stoner reckons he will tweak his training schedule after his recent impressive display in testing at Phillip Island, as he was getting tired doing short stints on track, while he had no worries during a 22-lap simulation.

He added: “I’m more worn out in the shorter runs doing five or ten laps, riding my arse off to do half decent times. Maybe my fitness is better for long runs than short bursts. My shoulders were a bit sore in Phillip Island but I’ll build those up over the next ten days before Qatar and get used to the Ducati and the way it moves and the riding position.”