PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, OCT 25 – Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner is expected to win the Australian Grand Prix for the sixth and final time, but his body may not allow him.
The two-time MotoGP World Champion revealed that the right ankle that he fractured in qualifying for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix has actually gotten worse since he returned to racing two weeks ago in the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. The winner here the past five years is doing everything he can to ameliorate his ankle’s deteriorating condition, but admits it’s something he has little control over.
Which is why picking Stoner to win the 17th round of the MotoGP World Championship may not be a wise bet. One thing he has on his side is the nature of the layout. The track is heavily biased with left hand corners, where the ankle shouldn’t be a bother.
“Honestly, people have been expecting me to win here for more than just this year,” Stoner said the before the start of practice for his home grand prix. “It’s not something new to me. And even last year I actually didn’t feel the pressure that I did the years before. So I’m not really feeling pressure here.
“I know what my capabilities are. Unfortunately, this year they’re not the same at this point. But the only thing I can do is my best. I can dream all these things all I want, but when I get out on the track there’s only so much I can do. And I’m only going to know this after Friday and Saturday, see what my pace is and see how we’re doing. See how I feel on the bike as this track, so we won’t really know.
“We’ve managed to get five wins in a row, which is fantastic, but I’m not going to start the weekend this early expecting something more than I’m capable of. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Casey Stoner's injured ankle...
Casey Stoner's injured ankle has actually gotten worse since the Motegi MotoGP, and it may hinder his chances at a sixth consecutive win at Phillip Island.
Stoner said his ankle had been swelling up and was becoming more painful. “When I walk I have pain, but in the past I could put some weight on it and it wasn’t so bad. But since I’ve been racing in Japan, more or less each day it has been getting worse and worse. They did recommend that I did stay off for a while and only put light weight on it, but unfortunately I have to put quite a lot of weight on it and I have to get used to this before I get on a bike. When I’m on the bike I’m not worried about it, so by the time the session has finished it is giving me a lot of problems and it is not good. When I’m on the bike I’m sure I’ll deal with it, it’s just mainly when I get off the bike that the pain is a lot worse.”
As much as the ankle may be a key to his physical condition, in Japan Stoner wore himself out; in the rain of Malaysia he didn’t have to work so hard.
“Fortunately on this track there’s not too many right hand corners that are so critical, so we should be a little more comfortable riding around here and, you know, it shouldn’t play too big a part,” he said. “But I think the main fitness problem I’m having at the moment is just endurance. Coming back to Japan I struggled a lot with that. we weren’t able to really see how much we’d improved by Malaysia, and you know here it’s going to be another one. But it shouldn’t be too hot here either, so we might hang in there quite a lot longer. And if we can get the bike set up and we ride like we have done in the past, then things could go a lot smoother the last two races.”
He continued. “And as for my last time here, it’s there will definitely be some feelings I suppose on Sunday afternoon. It’s not going to be the last time I ride this track. For sure I’ll come back here and still ride around, but actually enjoy the views around and really get to enjoy the track properly. It’s going to be a tough weekend, as always, and especially in the condition we’re in at the moment is definitely not 100%, so it’s going to be a lot tougher than it has been in the past years, but we’ll have to wait and see what we’re capable of until Sunday afternoon.”
Stoner received the honor...
Stoner received the honor of having the fast Turn 3 at Phillip Island renamed "Stoner Corner".
The highlight of the day for Stoner was a ceremony naming the fast Turn 3 kink left in his honor. Stoner takes it like no other, entering in third at 60-degree lean angle before shifting up to fourth and fifth. Last year his run through Turn 3 in qualifying was magical.
“We’ve had a lot of fun around this track, to be honest, and when I first started riding this track I’d say Turn 3 was one of my least favorite turns,” he said. “The wind plays a big part there and can really catch you off guard. And it’s a very quick corner. You never really want to go down there.
“But over the years we learned how to sort of overcome a lot of the issues there and now it’s got to be one of my favorite turns. It’s a very quick corner. I’m able to ride how I enjoy riding and you know to have it named after me today was something very, very special. So really appreciate everyone, you know, at the circuit and everyone that had anything to do with it. It’s a great honor for me.”