While Casey Stoner admits that the Losail circuit isn’t his favourite circuit, he’s know as the King of Qatar having dominated and won the opening race in the last three seasons.
“We have always enjoyed great results in Qatar although the track isn’t one of my favourites as a rider.
It was good that they changed the race from daytime to night because they’ve made it different to anything else – it’s interesting for the fans and it is good fun for us.
”Despite Valentino Rossi dominating almost all the pre-season test sessions, except for final testday in Qatar just three weeks ago, the Australian is satisfied and happy with the new “big bang” Ducati engine that Filippo Preziosi has come up with for the 2010 championship.
“Ducati have come up with a much more manageable engine for this season, it is easier for everybody to understand and from my point of view I am finding it easier to ride fast on used tyres.
We have made progress with the set-up ever since the first test at Sepang and we’re happy with what we have going into the first race.
”However Stoner is playing down the importance of claiming victory in the first race of the season for a fourth successive year.
“I will give my maximum as always but it is only the first race of a very long season that will only start to take shape from the third or fourth round.
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