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Australian MotoGP star Casey Stoner is determined to make up for an embarrassing season start when he lines up in this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Stoner ruined his good work in qualifying at the season-opener in Qatar when he sped away from the field only to crash out early due to an unforced error.
The Jerez track in Spain is not one of the former world champion’s favourites but he is confident he can re-focus his campaign there.
The Spanish race comes after the scheduled Japanese second round had to be postponed due to the travel chaos caused by Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull.
While Stoner has a puzzlingly poor record of one podium finish at Jerez he remains upbeat about the weekend.
“It is pretty unusual for a GP to be postponed but like last year in Qatar it is the kind of thing we can’t predict or control so we just have to look ahead to Jerez and the job that awaits us there,” Stoner said.
“In the past it hasn’t been one of the more favourable circuits for us but we made some steps forward last year and finished on the podium.
“We start from zero this time around though and on Friday we’ll be working hard to find a set-up for the race.
“You need good handling for this track but also good stability and I think the direction we’ve taken with development of the GP10 should allow us to be competitive on Sunday.”
The postponement of Japan, however, has proved an unexpected bonus for Stoner’s chief rival, Valentino Rossi, who won the Qatar GP but then suffered a shoulder injury in a motocross training accident in Italy.
“Of course it was a pity not to go to Japan, Yamaha’s home race, but we will go in October now and for me it was quite lucky to have this extra week,” Rossi said.
“I didn’t hurt myself badly in the motocross fall but my shoulder was quite sore so it was good to give it more time to recover.
“I don’t know yet how much it will affect me this weekend, I hope not too much.
“The win in Qatar was fantastic but we saw there that we are lacking in some areas compared to our rivals so we have work to do,” he said.
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