MotoGP, Casey Stoner: Ducati has failed, Marc Marquez must change

Casey Stoner returns to Phillip Island ten years later by road. The MotoGP champion talks about Ducati and Marc Marquez.

About Luigi Ciamburro de Motoracing

Casey Stoner returned to the track with a road bike: the double MotoGP champion hit the asphalt of Phillip Island on a Triumph Tiger Rally Proe, wearing the inseparable helmet of his sponsor Nolan, in the company of another motorcycling star , Chris Vermeulen. Ten years later, he returned to his beloved track where he triumphed continuously from 2007 to 2012 and which will be the scene of the Grand Prix du October 14 to 16. And this will perhaps be the opportunity to go and say hello Pecco Bagnaia et Jack Miller in the garage Ducati, a brand to which he remained particularly attached.

The pictures of Casey Stoner alongside the two pilots Ducati at the end of the 2021 season are still remembered. In 2007, it was the Australian who gave the Borgo Panigale company the only MotoGP world championship. After 15 years winning the biggest championship in the world the opportunity presents itself again and in Australia, the advice of Stoner could prove decisive for the race for the title of bagnaia.

It was a different time, now electronics reign supreme, a technical field that Casey never liked. “ I feel like this generation has lost some understanding of what happens in a weekend. Those looking to protect their tires, those trying to prepare the bike for racing, etc. Because there's a lot of electronic stuff going on at the moment. When I was a driver, I always fought against my engineers to get rid of as much electronics as possible in free practice – he says in the podcast 'In The Fast Lane' – to try to really understand what was going on with the bike and inside ».

Ducati is currently the fittest manufacturer at the moment, as confirmed by the third consecutive world title among manufacturers. But so far, the brand has failed to win the drivers' title, despite technical supremacy. “ Today they continue to add more and more electronics “, continued Casey Stoner. “ They try to correct the shape, but not the internal problems. I think this is why Ducati has failed over the years and hasn't won a world championship until now. Beyond whether they can win it this year or not ».

Casey Stoner: “ Marc Marquez will have to change the way he drives »

The experience of the rider is, according to the former MotoGP rider, a little or no important factor. “ It's a word I didn't like when I was younger, especially at Ducati, where Loris [Capirossi] had experience and I barely had any. My engineer was in his first year as chief engineer and together we won the championship ". At Phillip Island, there will certainly also be the biggest of the last ten years, Marc Marquez, struggling with rehabilitation after a fourth operation on his right humerus.

According to Casey Stoner, the most difficult part of his return is as much mental as physical: “ he will have to reinvent himself and he will have to change the way he drives. He needs to think differently, that's the first thing I did when I came back. Over the course of my career, I learned to be fast, but with less risk, and that generally made me the fastest ».

The Cervera champion will go in search of a new driving style to adapt to the physical and technical situation. “ He'll have to learn to ride differently and put his body in a different position, maybe brake a little earlier, apply less pressure on the brakes when he starts to go in and other things... He has to adapt to the current situation ».