Yesterday, Casey Stoner’s ambition for a third consecutive MotoGP victory ahead of his crucial home race at Phillip Island this weekend ended in catastrophe in Malaysia.
On the opening lap at Sepang, the Aussie swiftly moved up two positions before he lost control of the front-end of his factory Ducati GP10 at the last corner.
At the time of his fall, he was in third place, trailing Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, and his GP10 sustained too much damage to continue the race.
The 24-year-old, who had recently bounced back to victory at Motorland Aragon and Twin Ring Motegi, expressed, “I’m bitterly disappointed with this weekend.
“We went into that race believing we could achieve a good result. We were aware that we would be competing at the front for the win, and watching the race reaffirmed that. I am confident I had the speed to be up there.
“I was calm during the first lap, I gained some positions in the initial two corners, and once I was behind Dovizioso and Lorenzo, I was content to stay back and let the tires warm up.
“Regrettably, I crashed because they weren’t sufficiently warm, but I feel I couldn’t have been more cautious during those opening laps. It’s incredibly disheartening that such a minor issue can spoil an entire weekend.”
Stoner’s fourth crash of the season resulted in a loss of third place in the overall standings to Valentino Rossi.
The day turned out to be excellent for the FIAT Yamaha team, with Valentino Rossi claiming the race victory and his teammate Jorge Lorenzo being named the 2010 champion.
