Stoner looks to star at San Marino

MotoGP World Championship leader Casey Stoner is confident of picking up another strong result when he heads to Misano.

The Australian has been the sport’s dominant figure this season following his switch to the Repsol Honda team, picking up seven race wins to hold a 44-point lead over the Yamaha of defending champion Jorge Lorenzo.

Stoner looks to star at San Marino

The latest of those wins was a comfortable success in last weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix, his third in a row, and Stoner is targeting victory number eight at a track where he triumphed on his way to his 2007 title.

«I’m looking forward to going to San Marino and seeing how competitive we can be,» he said.

«In 2007 and 2008 we were fast there, then I missed 2009 through illness and last year we struggled a little so we’ve had a mixed bag of results.

«It’s a nice track, I like the two corners off the end of the back straight, they’re a lot of fun and very fast.

«I know Dani (Pedrosa) and Jorge will be very fast there, but I’m coming off the back of three wins and in a strong position in the Championship so we’ll see what we can do and I’m confident we can get a good result.»

Another man targeting a strong result is Britain’s Cal Crutchlow. The Coventry rider’s season has been hamstrung by injury, most notably the broken collarbone he suffered at his home race.

Crutchlow then retired at three of the next five races, but was more competitive at Indianapolis, where he secured an 11th place finish.

And he is looking forward to getting to a track that he will not have to learn, having raced at Misano during his World Supersport and World Superbike days.

«After the positive result in Indianapolis I’m really looking forward to Misano now,» he said.

«The first objective in Indianapolis was to finish the race and learn more about the bike, and we accomplished that.

«That’s given my confidence a lift and it wasn’t only good for my morale but it was also good for the morale of the team, who have supported me fantastically.

«Of course we want to be finishing higher, but I was happy with my pace in Indianapolis.

«At least I don’t have to worry about learning the track at Misano and that is a massive bonus before you even start.

«I just want to get another good result this weekend for all the hard work my crew have been putting in to make it work out for me.»