MotoGP: Casey Stoner ready to challenge Yamaha duo
10-15-2009
by
moto123.com
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Casey Stoner, who struggled for fitness in the first part of the championship, believes he has now put the illness that interrupted his season behind him.
The former MotoGP champion now says that he is in great shape for this weekend's own Australian GP and feels that his recent second place in Portugal after a three race absence has given him a new reason to fight till the end.
He is confident that Ducati has a bike capable of beating the Yamahas - which have won 10 of the 14 races so far. That sentiment is echoed by Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, who think their advantage has evaporated recently and expect Stoner will be hard to beat in Australia.
The Yamaha duo is fighting for the championship with three rounds to go and with Stoner now back, Rossi thinks the Australian is likely to start taking points off the title rivals. The Italian is not sure whether Stoner's pace will help or hinder his efforts to keep Lorenzo at bay in the world championship.
The top four riders in the Championship each bring something special to this race in Australia, where Aussie riders always shine at the high speed Phillip Island track, Lorenzo has demonstrated that he will try almost anything to win, and Dani Pedrosa will go all out to get third place in the Championship carrying the honour of Honda on his fragile and error-prone shoulders.
Meanwhile, Rossi will use all his intelligence to finish ahead of Lorenzo, preferably with Pedrosa between them. In the race, look for Stoner to take off and let the other three fight it out, and Rossi to slow the pace of the others to achieve his goal at the finish.
Photo Credit : MotoGP
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