MotoGP: Casey Stoner expresses dissapointment in the handling of Dovizioso

Casey Stoner did not hold back when talking about how Dovizioso was treated by Ducati.

Casey Stoner is the only man to give Ducati a MotoGP title which was achieved in 2007, since then we saw Ducati and Stoner slowly fall apart until Stoner left Ducati for Honda in 2011, winning the 2011 MotoGP title.

Ducati has not been known for treating their riders too well, Jorge Lorenzo highlighted this also when they would not listen to his insights on the bike, instead opting to use the data Lorenzo was giving Ducati, when Ducati finally listened to Jorge, he won three races in a row.

Stoner spoke about the Dovizioso/Ducati divorce on the Austrialian Grand Prix podcast (which can be found here) he said, “I am pretty disappointed in Ducati. You would think they may have learnt to really look after the riders that look after them.

“Andrea has been trying to get things done, as I was, and a big reason of why I left Ducati in my test role as well, it was just, we could not get things through to them to make the changes for the rider, if they didn’t see it in the data they didn’t really see it as relevant. Everything about a bike is about feel for the rider, it’s feel, it’s not like a car where you can be strapped in and you only have certain elements there, your steering, brake and throttle. On a bike just a little bit of difference in your rider position is going to change the way the bike moves and the way the bike feels, everything has to translate back through the rider. And when they have got somebody good at relaying that information, like Andrea, then they have got to listen to him, and that is a big part of what Andrea is unhappy about.

“It has been years and years now of everything going through data, everything being about the engine, and aerodynamics, and it’s pretty much one person deciding I suppose the direction at Ducati. It’s very close to being the fantastic bike on the grid, but it is always missing that one fundamental which is turning, and it is something that comes from a rider getting that feel with the chassis, and it is always something that has been missing.”

Clearly Dovizioso is feeling the same feelings that Stoner did, losing Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso in 3 seasons is surely a wake up call to Ducati.

Featured image – www.motogp.com