For the first nine laps of Sunday’s Grand Prix of Catalunya, Casey Stoner matched the Fiat Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo blow-for-blow at the front of the field.
Some changes to the set-up of the young Australian’s Desmosedici had helped turn around a mixed Saturday, but the 2007 world champion’s physical condition was heading dramatically downwards.
“On Saturday we really struggled with the bike, we were away too far off the pace to even be competitive. Then before the race we changed a few things and made a big improvement,” explained a visibly exhausted Stoner.
“I haven’t felt in great shape all weekend – I wasn’t ill but I wasn’t quite myself. Then last night I couldn’t sleep, I probably got a couple of hours at the most, and after just a couple of laps in warm-up I was destroyed,” he revealed.
After setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 2, Stoner admitted he had nothing left by the halfway mark of the 25 laps, when he gave up on any chance of victory and began a damage limitation ride.
Despite his condition, Stoner was able to cling on to third position by just 0.052sec from Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, a result that means Stoner is now tied with Rossi and Lorenzo for the world championship lead. Yahoo Eurosports
The Australian’s podium finish was a remarkable effort given that he barely slept the night before the race and was feeling sick just a few laps in.
“I started to suffer from really strong cramps and I could barely ride - I was falling over the front of the bike in the hard-braking areas and I was struggling to keep my concentration. I thought about stopping but decided to just back off for a while and try to hang on for a top 10.”
“I decided to race myself, basically, and bring home as many points as I could manage but my bike was fantastic and that is why I was able to ride it to a really valuable podium.”
Rossi and Lorenzo fought out an epic battle at the front and Stoner believes he could have been up there with them if he wasn’t feeling so sick.
But he paid tribute to his Ducati team for keeping the bike in perfect shape, which enabled him to hold off Andrea Dovizioso, who finished just behind the Australian in fourth place.
“The team did a perfect job after the warm-up and if I wasn’t so ill, I think I could have stayed with Valentino and Jorge until the end, although I’m not saying I could have beaten them,” he said.
“The bike was so good that I was able to keep up a decent pace and hold off Dovizioso.” Sportal.com.au
Stoner paid tribute to his team for supplying a perfect bike that enabled him to hold off Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, who finished a fraction of a second behind in fourth place.
“The team did a perfect job after the warm-up and if I wasn’t so ill, I think I could have stayed with Valentino and Jorge (Lorenzo) until the end, although I’m not saying I could have beaten them,” he said.
In what must have been one of the most exciting finishes to a senior Grand Prix, the lead changed three times on the final lap as Rossi battled with Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo.
The three riders are locked on 106 points after six races.
Stoner’s aim is to recover his strength for testing this week before beginning preparations for the Dutch round at Assen at the end of the month. The West Australian
