Source: Supplied.

Ducati test rider Casey Stoner made a strong impression during Sepang’s second day of MotoGP testing on Tuesday, but insists there are still no plans for him to go racing with the factory team.

Dual world champion Stoner focused on vehicle and electronics set-up work on the Desmosedici GP15 of the Test Team, eventually posting a 2m01.103s laptime in 45 laps to rank ninth overall.

“It’s been another good day today,” Stoner said. “Being on track with everybody else, with the good track conditions, gave us better indications of what we are feeling in comparison. We had a lot of different things to test, but unfortunately after Baz’s crash we had to change tyre compounds and retest everything.

“We went through a lot of the stack we had to do and got some very positive input from the electronics, the engine braking, the clutch and in every aspect of the bike, together with a few things we can improve, and we gathered a lot of data to move forward from there.”

Stoner said at Sepang that he’s not preparing for a racing return at this point: “I have no intentions of racing. It was nice to be back on track with them, mainly to get the data, but I think I am still going to enjoy staying on the side of the track watching the racing, rather than being involved.”

Stoner’s fastest lap during the test was just 1.008s of Danilo Petrucci’s overall benchmark, despite not having ridden a MotoGP bike in over 12 months or a race bike altogether since last year’s Suzuka 8 Hours.