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Casey Stoner To Return To Ducati As Brand Ambassador And Test Rider

Discussion in 'Front Page Articles' started by El Toro, Nov 23, 2015.

  1. Ducati Corse is delighted to announce that two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner will return to the Italian manufacturer next year in the role of brand ambassador and test rider.

    Casey Stoner won the 2007 MotoGP World Championship on the Ducati Desmosedici GP with ten wins in eighteen races, results that also helped the Italian manufacturer to clinch the Constructors’ title. Between 2007 and 2010, Casey won a total of 23 races for Ducati.

    The 30-year-old Australian from Southport (Queensland), who is widely considered to be one of the fastest and most talented riders ever, will become brand ambassador for the Bologna-based manufacturer and, as part of the agreement, will appear at the 2016 edition of World Ducati Week, scheduled to run from July 1-3. He will also take part in a selected number of MotoGP tests for the Ducati Team next year.

    Stoner_Qatar_2007.jpg

    Casey Stoner: “It’s been a great journey with HRC over the last five years, winning the World Championship in 2011 was obviously a high point and I've made many friends and formed lasting relationships along the way. For 2016 I am very excited to announce that I will again be joining the Ducati team! I have so many great memories working with the people and the brand of Ducati and the opportunity to work with them again is something very special. Gigi Dall'Igna has brought with him a new approach and I'm looking forward to assisting the team, Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone however I can. The Ducati brand and the Ducati fans have been such a big part of my career and my life, so it will be really great to reunite the relationship and start another chapter with this iconic brand.”

    Claudio Domenicali (CEO Ducati Motor Holding): “Stoner has always remained in the hearts of all the Ducatisti and I am really pleased that he has decided to come back to our family. Casey has an extraordinary talent and with his experience he will be able to make an important contribution for Gigi and the two Andreas in the development of the Desmosedici MotoGP bike. His presence at WDW 2016 will be a special gift for all the Ducati fans and enthusiasts, who will finally have the opportunity to catch up once again with this great champion who brought the 2007 world title to Borgo Panigale and who won numerous GP races with the Desmosedici GP.”
     
  2. Happy days :)

    Properly chuffed with that, if anything he'll definitely help development and this time he knows they'll do the investment required

    Brilliant
     
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  3. I never liked Stoner that much when he was racing, but the sport could do with him returning and was undeniably a talented rider..
     
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  4. So... He returns to the company that called him crazy and asked him to see a psychiatrist when he became lactose intolerant.

    Also, when Casey was winning on the Ducati they stopped trying to fix the issues Stoner's genius could ride around. Hopefully now they don't make the same mistake.

    Rumours are though that he was over a second off the pace for the last year on the Honda, that's why he didn't ride as a replacement for Pedrosa. Maybe he was just having the same Honda setup issues as Cal and Redding. Not easy to set up a bike you only ride a few times a year and have a potty full of different parts to test.
     
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  5. not my favourite rider but would put some sparkle back into the GPs if he were to take part.
    the Rossi marquez thing is old hat now
     
  6. More character than Lorenzo, more petulant than Marquez and after so long out of top class motorcycling, slower than both. Not sure he is going to bring anything to the party but happy to wait and see. Andy
     
  7. He'll be rusty for a bit but just because he's not raced doesn't mean he'll always be slow.

    He's widely regarded as one of the best, if not THE most raw talented riders ever to have swung a leg over a bike, that's not talk from fan boys like me, that's from top class riders such as Lorenzo and rossi.

    they're not skills you lose, they're skills that just need bringing back up to focus.

    Depending on how much testing he gets and what he truly wants will ultimately dictate how he goes, I've no doubt he could easily get back up to 'alien' speed, it all depends on him and whether that's even on the radar.

    Whichever way it goes, Ducati could do substantially worse than having one of the fastest riders on the planet as test rider, if anything is going to move the project forward it's having somebody who can really push past the ability of others
     
  8. ;)
     
    #8 Hyperextended, Nov 23, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 15, 2016
  9. Awesome. Was very surprised when I first heard about this but it's got to be great news for the project , especially with Gigi and co running things now.
     
  10. Brilliant news, Top Bloke and Rider! Fingers crossed he will step in on a couple of races, would be interesting to see how he gets on!
     
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