Race true test for Stoner

Loris Capirossi has backed new factory Ducati team-mate Casey Stoner to emerge as a big threat in the 2007 MotoGP world championship, but admitted the real test for the young Aussie was yet to come.

Capirossi was again impressed with the 21-year-olds performance in testing recently at Phillip Island, with Stoner finishing just 0.1s behind his vastly more experienced team-mate.

The pair were both in the top three on race tyres in Australia but 33-year-old Capirossi said: “I’ve said a lot of times that Casey is a really strong rider.

He is really talented but we have to understand what happens during the season. In testing there is more time to work, time to think and it’s easier. 

 “When you only have four hours at a race it’s different and also the feeling is different, there is less stress in testing. I think we have a lot of really strong riders but always during the race something changes.”