After a whirlwind of possibilities, 20-year-old Australia Casey Stoner will remain with the LCR team, which will move up to the MotoGP ranks with an HRC-supported Honda RC211V in 2006. According to Dorna, Stoner was originally contracted to the LCR team to race in the 250cc World Championship in 2006 with a possible move, with the team, to MotoGP in 2007. Then, Sito Pons’ Honda team offered Stoner tests on its Honda RC211V at Valencia and Sepang after the end of the 2005 season, and Stoner’s impressive performances prompted Pons to make Stoner an offer for a MotoGP ride in 2006. The deal with Pons fell apart, however. Stoner then looked like he might ride a YZR-M1 for the Tech 3 Yamaha squad in 2006. Finally, in December, LCR Team Manager Lucio Cecchinello (a former 125cc World Championship race winner) announced that he had acquired use of a Honda RC211V and support from Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) for 2006 and had re-signed Stoner to an amended version of their original contract. Riding a Carrera Sunglasses-sponsored LCR Aprilia, Stoner won five races and finished runner-up to Champion Dani Pedrosa in the 2005 250cc World Championship.