Italian MotoGP: Casey Stoner rues crucial mugello mistake

Reigning MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner reckons a crucial mistake at the first corner on lap 10 cost him the chance to push Valentino Rossi harder in today’s Italian GP in Mugello.

Aussie Stoner had to settle for a battling second place as a mistake shortly before the halfway stage saw him drop down to third behind Dani Pedrosa for four laps.

Stoner got back by Pedrosa on lap 14 but it was all too little too late to mount an attack on Rossi, who cruised to his seventh successive victory on home soil. Rossi now leads Stoner by 46-points, though second was Stoner’s first premier class podium in Mugello.

The 22-year-old said: “I was disappointed not to be on the podium in my first race here for Ducati last season so this makes up for it and it’s a chance for me to say ‘thank you’ to Ducati and all the Ducatisti for their support.

“We’ve had some problems over the first few races of this season but at Le Mans and here we’ve found a more comfortable set-up and a bike that is really competitive.

“Today was an awesome race. I led from the start but I didn’t want to push too hard because the front tyre took a few laps to bed in. Valentino came past in a section of the circuit where I was losing a little bit too much time – I was trying to make it up around the rest of the track but pushed it too much into turn one, ran wide and lost touch with Valentino.

“We knew the setting of the bike would be more suited to the final few laps and we expected to be strong but unfortunately I’d fallen a little bit too far behind. Even so, second place is a great result and it gives us a real boost going to Catalunya.”