Brno MotoGP: Casey Stoner doubts Ducati parts boost

Aussie Casey Stoner doubts Ducati will be able to roll out a raft of new parts to help bring its factory GP10 into winning contention in MotoGP.

Stoner’s tough 2010 campaign continued in Brno today when he could only log the seventh quickest time, the 24-year-old ending opening practice well over a second adrift of red-hot world title favourite Jorge Lorenzo.

And Stoner reckons he’s not expecting the Bologna factory to have a batch of upgrades available to test in Brno on Monday.

Asked if he expected new parts to help him mount more of a serious threat to Yamaha and Honda, Stoner said: “These aren’t things that can just be bolted on and fixed. As we know from the past, unfortunately Ducati is a very small company and it struggles to put parts out there quickly enough.

“Whether we have got some new parts that will help us for the rest of the season, I doubt it. We’ve got to work with what we’ve got and try and improve that situation.”

Stoner though said if any new parts were available to try for 2011, he believed Ducati would ask for his opinion, even though he will ride for Repsol Honda next season.

Yamaha will ban Valentino Rossi from riding its prototype 2011 factory YZR-M1 machine at Monday’s Brno test because of his big money move to Ducati.

But Stoner said: “If there are some parts for 2011 I won’t be surprised I’ll be testing them as well. I’m still working for Ducati and I’m still riding my butt off and I will continue to do the best job I can for them.”