Mugello MotoGP: Casey Stoner satisfied with distant fourth

Casey Stoner declared himself satisfied with a distant fourth place finish as his 2010 MotoGP title challenge failed to gather serious momentum in Mugello.

Stoner was never in contention for a first podium finish of the season and by the end of a race that saw him win a close battle with Honda duo Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet, he was a massive 25 seconds away from the victory.

Using a set of 2009 spec Ohlins front forks to try and boost his fragile confidence with the front-end of his factory Ducati, Stoner said:

“I’m satisfied with the outcome and don’t think I had the pace to run with the front guys. I used the softer option tyre and thought at least I could run with the guys at the front and then maybe go a little backwards at the end of the race, But I couldn’t generate any grip from lap the second lap and I was just doing nothing.

“I’m a little disappointed not to have least pulled away from the guys behind me but I was a good rabbit for them and they had something to chase down. When I got in front they had pretty good lap times but when they got ahead they were a lot slower.

“It was easier for me just to stay there and I knew they would just up their pace if I went ahead, so it I sat in and enjoyed it until the end. There was no sense risking anything else.”

Stoner had gambled with the softer tyre in a bid to make a fast start to the 23-lap race but he denied he’s been surprised that the tyre had not given him more of an advantage in the opening exchanges.

He added: “We had a fairly decent set-up in the warm-up and we changed it for the race but it felt like I was still pushing too hard and it just didn’t work with the rear. The front of the bike improved but we lost a bit of grip with rear. That was disappointing because the only thing we struggled with was the grip in the race.”

The 2009 forks at least restored some of Stoner’s confidence and he said he felt much more comfortable than the previous race in Le Mans when he crashed out of rostrum contention in the early stages.

The 24-year-old said: “In Le mans everything was fine until the race and I think Nicky (Hayden) found the troubles I’ve been having and Mika (Kallio) the same. They both lost the front. In Le Mans everything was fine until the race and then I crashed at an insignificant corner.

“It was the same with Nicky here at a corner where you are not pushing hard. He was probably off the brakes when it went.  We are not changing too much. I’m pretty happy with the way the bike is feeling but I just need to get confidence back up and get more grip.”

Stoner surrendered more crucial ground in the title race with his latest result leaving him 66-points behind Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo with only four of 18 races completed.

Assessing his championship prospects heading to the first British MotoGP race to be staged at Silverstone since 1986, Stoner added:

“Two crashes in three races where we should have done very well hasn’t helped. It is almost an impossible amount of catching up to do and now with Valentino (Rossi) out, even if I was able to win races there is one less person to get in between the top four or five guys and helps the points gap.

“If its just Dani and Jorge it’s a pretty small gap race-by-race if you can win. It is making things complicated.”

• For the full story read this week’s MCN out on Wednesday