Young Australian Casey Stoner has made an impressive MotoGP debut, finishing sixth in the Spanish grand prix in his first race since recent shoulder surgery.
At 20, the youngest rider in the elite class, Stoner made a confident start on his LCR Honda, moving from back in the pack to jump a group of riders.
His lightning-fast start took him to sixth on lap one and he moved briefly to fourth just behind factory Honda rider Nicky Hayden before settling in sixth position mid-race.
Stoner held off Japan's Shinya Nakano on a Kawasaki over the final laps to finish just 21 seconds behind race winner Loris Capirossi.
The Australian came into his first MotoGP race after a five-week break from riding following a shoulder operation but rode confidently against his seasoned factory rivals.
The team plans to remain in Jerez for testing ahead of the next race in Qatar as Stoner's injury layoff meant he missed many of the MotoGP pre-season testing sessions.
Stoner said he was able to capitalise on the first-turn jumble which saw world champion Valentino Rossi fall from his Yamaha.
"I honestly didn't expect this after missing nine days of testing so I'm very happy with the result - the team has done a great job this weekend," Stoner said."
"I made a great start and with the mix up at turn one with Rossi crashing I was able get away with the leading group."
"We had changed the set-up with different front forks after the problems in qualifying and the bike was much better in the race, but still not perfect."
"I was running wide in some corners."
Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who won last year's 250cc championship and was Stoner's great rival throughout 2005, finished a brilliant second behind Capirossi in his first race.
"I want to congratulate Dani Pedrosa for his great ride into second place, he did a great job today," Stoner said.
He said he had no residual worries from his surgery but was feeling the effects of racing the bigger, faster machines.
"Physically, my shoulder was no problem although my first MotoGP race was hard work," Stoner said.
Stoner returns for MotoGP debut.
Wed 22 Mar, Crash.Net
After missing the last
three pre-season tests, Honda LCR rider Casey Stoner
will be fit to make his MotoGP debut in this
weekend's season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at
Stoner was forced to halt his pre-season schedule - and undergo surgery on his
right shoulder - after an old dirt track injury flared up during testing at Sepang in mid-February.
However, despite the setback, Stoner's post-surgery rehabilitation has gone to
plan and he will be back on his RC211V this Friday.
"Now I can start the season knowing my shoulder is
fixed and just concentrate on riding," said the 2005 250cc
runner-up. "But I don't have any big expectations
for
"The Spanish GP will be really be
like a test session for me to get the feel of the Honda V5 again, after missing
much of the winter testing. I won't be 100% race fit but it's a long season,
and a learning year for me, so I have time on my side," added Casey, the
youngest rider on the 2006 MotoGP grid.
Stoner Targets
Wed 22 Feb, 12:09 PM Sportinglife.Com
The Australian, who rides for LCR Honda, will miss the next two tests in
However, despite initial fears he could be out for several months, the 20-year-old is confident of lining up on the grid on March 26.
He said: "The surgeons have cut out the old tissue and now it is just a case of letting the shoulder settle down and then start to build my strength back up.”
"It's a blow to miss the next couple of tests but I was warned last week that I could be out for four months so I have to look on the positive side and say it's not as bad as it could have been.”
"I know we will have a lot of catching up to do when I get back but the team have shown a fantastic work ethic in the pre-season tests so far and I will be just as determined to make up for lost time.”
"I'm confident we can be competitive in a short space of time."
Shoulder surgery for MotoGP newcomer Stoner
Wed 22 Feb, 10:44 AM SYDNEY (AFP)
Young Australian rider Casey Stoner, promoted to this season's world MotoGP championship from the 250cc class, has undergone shoulder surgery but insists he will be fit for the first race of the year.
The highly-touted Stoner made impressive
gains in pre-season testing, but was forced to have the surgery to repair a
frayed tendon after it flared up at a session in
He was released from hospital Wednesday and was relieved it went well.
"This is brilliant, very positive news and without any
complications. I'm planning to be at
"I won't be 100 percent fit for the first race because I'll miss some testing and training but I'm looking forward to going racing.”
"I was prepared for the worst after the first medical check last week, perhaps being out for a couple months, but the tendon did not need any stitches."
Stoner was signed to race a factory Honda V5 by the Italian LCR team in his rookie MotoGP season after winning five GPs and finishing runner-up in the 250cc championship last year.
He will miss next week's official pre-season test in
Old injury sends Stoner home.
Wed 15 Feb, 3:21 PM Crash.net
After completing just 13 laps yesterday, Casey Stoner has been forced to abandon the rest of the Sepang test after an old injury returned to haunt him.
Stoner has a problem with a tendon in his shoulder, caused by an
old dirk track injury, which reared its head during a physical training session
last week. The LCR Honda rider will take no part in testing at Sepang and instead return to
"I suffered this injury nearly six years ago during a dirt track training," conformed Casey. "In that period the doctor decided to avoid any operation because he thought it was not necessary and for the following 5 years I really never had problems.
"Last November I started a new intensive training to increase my muscles - preparing my body for the new effort required by this type of bike - and I have probably inflamed the old tendonitis."
"Tomorrow (Thursday) morning I will fly back home to see a sports specialist involved in the National Football League and we will value the solution together. I will do my best to be at 100% soon because I think that a simple tendonitis is not a insuperable problem."
Stoner's rivals will continue testing at Sepang
tomorrow for the third and final day of pre-season track action in
Stoner: Very fast - very happy.
Thu 02 Feb, 3:57 PM Crash.net
MotoGP rookie Casey Stoner bounced back from his Wednesday fall with a series of consistently quick laps on the third and final day of action at his home Phillip island circuit, which put the Honda LCR rider within half a second of race tyre pace setter Marco Melandri despite another trip into the gravel trap.
"I made a lot of good laps and was very consistent today. I felt very happy because I was very fast on my home track," stated Casey. "But when I put on a new tyre unfortunately I slid off into the gravel trap. But I have to say the whole day was quite positive for us."
Stoner finished the test just 0.03secs slower than factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa - the man who beat him in the 2005 250cc World Championship.
Pedrosa, Stoner thrown overboard.
Wed 01 Feb, 3:18 PM Crash.net
Honda MotoGP rookies Dani
Pedrosa and Casey Stoner bit
the bullet and took to the wet
With only a brief wet session at Sepang last week to call upon, Spaniard Pedrosa lasted 11 laps before falling on the exit of turn one while fellow 20 year old Stoner was cast aside a few laps later at Lucky Heights. Both riders escaped unscathed and continued testing.
"I need to get in as many laps as possible to learn all I
can about the RCV but with it raining the whole day we didn't get too much
done," reflected Stoner. "Still we got to try a couple of Michelin
wet tyres and learned a little. Then I crashed at
"We started calmly and I felt pretty good when suddenly I crashed at the exit of the first corner," added Dani. "Luckily I was okay and I could start again. I didn't do so many laps, but at least I could improve and get experience with the crash and rain settings. My best lap time (around 2.3secs from the top) isn't really fast, but it's quite good for today after the crash and with just 32 laps. Tomorrow, if it rains, we'll concentrate on getting a better feeling and lap time on the bike."
"With a MotoGP machine, with so much power, it's difficult to control the bike in wet conditions and Dani has very little experience so far. But today has been good experience for him," stated Repsol Honda team manager Makoto Tanaka.
Pedrosa's team-mate, Nicky Hayden, was second fastest on the unofficial lap times with a 1min 42.62secs.
Stoner stars on home ground.
Tue 31 Jan, 3:09 PM Crash.Net
MotoGP rookie Casey
Stoner delivered his best showing yet on a Honda RCV today at
The 2005 250cc runner-up rode for 75 laps, despite illness, in order to get the most track time possible before predicted rain on Wednesday.
"Everything was quite good today. This morning I was sick but after some medication I immediately felt better," said the Honda LCR rider. "I made 75 laps and worked especially on bike no. 2 getting very good results as I was third fastest for the whole day. Basically we had some problems on bike number two but at the end of the day I was consistent and I could go faster. The weather conditions are not so clear and I think it's going to rain tomorrow - we will see what we can do."
Stoner: New bike definitely better.
Mon 23 Jan, 3:08 PM
Casey Stoner had been expected to line up for Team Pons in the 2006 MotoGP World Championship but, following much publicised sponsorship problems for the Spanish team, has switched to Lucio Cecchinello Racing (LCR) - the team that took him to the runner-up spot in last year's 250cc world championship.
Despite that team upset, Stoner has at least been able to gain valuable RCV experience during his brief time at Pons - and was able to use that knowledge to evaluate the new 2006 version of the RC211V at Sepang today.
"The bike is definitely better than the '05 bike I tried here at Sepang in November," declared Casey, who set the ninth fastest time today. "I have a much better feeling with the chassis but we have some work to do on that. The engine could be a little smoother but the team will have no problem fixing that, it's only the first day of 2006 testing."
Stoner moves up, confirmed at LCR.
Fri 30 Dec, 3:02 PM Crash.net
Australian Casey Stoner has been confirmed as riding for the LCR team in 2006 as the squad makes the move up to the MotoGP class.
Stoner, who had been linked to a seat with Honda in MotoGP for some time, will race with the squad with which he almost took the 250 class title this season, and the team will receive backing from HRC.
"I am very happy to make my MotoGP debut with Lucio," says Stoner. "The LCR Team is like a home away from home. The 2006 will be my fifth year in the world championship and the fourth with LCR team and I think we will get good results together like the last seasons."
The LCR team is run by Lucio Cechinello, who is very pleased that the Australian will remain with them as they move up to the premier class. "I am very happy that Casey will make his debut in MotoGP class with us," explained Cechinello, who ran Stoner in the 125 and 250 classes.
"It's a sort of third christening and I feel very proud of it. There's a lot of work to do on both sides. Personally I already started a new sport: the skip of the vacation! However Casey showed to be a real professional and I feel confident for the future. Thanks to the Honda support and his pluck the results will come soon!"
Stoner joins the squad on a one year deal, with an option for 2007 and it won't be the first time that Casey will have ridden Honda's MotoGP challengerm as the Australian already has MotoGP experience, having tested for the Honda Pons squad in November.
"I already lapped on RC211V official machine last
November in
Stoner and the LCR Honda MotoGP team will be out in action late in January for the first test session of the year at the Malaysian Sepang circuit.