Will Casey Stoner still be testing for the Ducati brand in 2019? Since undergoing shoulder surgery in February, the Australian regularly gives his opinion on the news of the MotoGP World Championship but has not been mounted on a machine since January.
Stoner has not ridden Ducati since he took part in a group test at Sepang, Malaysia, immediately prior to the first official pre-season running of the year.
When asked by reporters, Paolo Ciabatti, sporting director of the Ducati Team, said that the situation is caused by the physical condition of Stoner.
“The situation is that, we agreed, with Casey to come back to Ducati as a test rider and brand ambassador, we had a 2 + 1 – a 3 year deal, that is expiring at the end of 2018, so we, as you may know, we met Casey during World Ducati week at Misano and we spoke a bit about the future,” Ciabatti said.
“He still recovering to the surgery to his shoulder and he still cannot really move his shoulder up more that 90 degrees, so it was quite a comprehensive surgery and he’s still rehabilitating from that.
“So we decided we would touch base again later, in September, and see what the progress is with the shoulder to see whether there are conditions to continue as it is now as a test driver and brand ambassador, or maybe only as an ambassador.
“We’ll have to see with him. I think his main concern now is to recover the use of his shoulder and arm. Once that is done we can talk about the future.” Ciabatti added.
Casey Stoner has not ridden since he took part in a group test at Sepang, Malaysia. (Source:www.merdeka.com)
Stoner started of his Ducati career on a high note with MotoGP win in the Qatar opener in 2007. He took ten race wins and six pole positions, took him to his first MotoGP title, by a margin of 125 points equivalent to five factories over Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.
After retiring from MotoGP at the end of 2012 season, Stoner spent three seasons as Honda’s test rider before taking up his test and ambassador role with the Italian manufacturer in 2016.
The 32-year-old man signed an initial two-year agreement with an option for a third, which expires at the end of 2018.
