Ducati development rider continues new role at Losail Circuit.
Retired Australian Casey Stoner completed 65 laps as the weather cleared on day two of his private Qatar MotoGP test with Ducati, debuting on the latest GP16.
Stoner has spent much of his development role so far riding last year’s GP15, however he’s now transferred to the Desmosedici GP16 after experiencing mixed conditions at Losail.
“Today wasn’t too bad, but I’m knackered!” Stoner said. “We got a lot of track time, even though the conditions weren’t perfect.
“There was a bit of rain, but then it was dry for the rest of the day, and there was more than enough time for us to complete the scheduled program.
“Finally, I got some time on the Desmosedici GP, which I found different to the GP15. I would have loved two days to test the bike thoroughly, but we are happy with what we did in the 65 laps.”
“We tested lots of stuff, there were positives and negatives in everything, and we were quite happy with the direction we are taking.”
Ducati opted not to release laptimes from Stoner during the Qatar test. Meanwhile, it’s been made official that absent factory development rider Michele Pirro will stand in for Danilo Petrucci in Argentina.