Ducati Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti told two-time champions Casey Stoner will never come back to MotoGP as a wild card this season.
The presence of 32-year-old rider in the Ducati clan is not for nothing in the recent performance of the Italian brand, as the development it does on the Desmosedici.
Stoner, the only MotoGP world champion in Ducati history, is now the manufacturer’s flagship test driver and he will be nothing more.
“There will be no wild card for Stoner, nor in 2018, nor ever. Of course, we had hoped for a long time, but we have no choice but to forget about it,” Ciabatti said to Speedweek.
“Casey made it clear. If there was a real chance, it was the Austrian GP 2016. But it did not work for different reasons. This is no longer relevant.” Ciabatti added.
Stoner retired from MotoGP in 2012, he stated that he no longer enjoyed competing in the series. He became MotoGP World Champion in 2007 for the factory Ducati team.
After his departure from Ducati to Honda following the 2010 season, the Australian rider won a second MotoGP World Championship title in 2011 for Repsol Honda Racing Team.
“At the time, Casey’s retirement since 2012 was not that far away. In addition, the Red Bull Ring was new to all drivers. Nobody had a reference.” Ciabatti said.
“Casey had also tested there two days before and was very competitive. In addition to that, Ducati had not won a single race since 2010. For various reasons, this could not be put in place. Now we all know that it will never happen again. Sadly.” he added.
Casey Stoner, Gigi Dall’gna and Paolo Ciabatti. (Source:www.merdeka.com)
Stoner once again returned to the Ducati as a test rider for the 2018 season and it has been further proposed that he may participate in some races as a wild card entry in the same season.
Last January, he tested Ducati’s GP18 at Sepang, the bike that factory riders Andrea Dovizioso and his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo will campaign this season.
“We’ve done some steps forward in terms of chassis and some things regarding the engine. So far everything is positive, we haven’t found anything negative.” Stoner said.
“I can’t wait to know what Jorge and Dovi think about the new bike after trying it. Improving the weakest points of the past will be a huge step.” he added.
