Ducati is interested in reuniting with retired two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner to work together in the future, but Ducati is not discussing exactly what they might have in mind for the 30-year-old Australian.
“As you know, Casey has been a hero for Ducati, winning many GP races and the world title in 2007,” Ducati Corse MotoGP Project Director Paolo Ciabatti told members of the media in the press room November 8 at Valencia. “Obviously, he moved to Honda and has been working with them, but still he is in the heart of all the Ducati fans and has a good relationship with many Ducati people. So let’s see what the future brings. We know [Stoner’s] contract with Honda expires at the end of this year, and obviously, if there is a chance to do something together we would love to do it. That is the only thing I can say.”
After four full-time seasons in the 125cc and 250cc World Championships, Stoner made his MotoGP debut with the LCR Honda satellite team in 2006. In 2007 he joined Ducati, won 10 of 18 races and captured the MotoGP World Championship. Over the next three years, Stoner took 13 more MotoGP victories for Ducati and finished no lower than fourth in the World Championship, including claiming the runner-up spot in 2008.
But the relationship between Stoner and Ducati soured in 2009 when Stoner missed several races while dealing with a serious food allergy and Ducati allegedly started making huge offers, better than Stoner’s deal at the time, to other riders to replace Stoner in the event he didn’t return for the 2010 season.
Stoner finished his contract with Ducati, switched to Honda in 2011 and dominated the MotoGP World Championship, taking 10 victories and 16 podium finishes in 18 races. He raced with Honda again in 2012, winning 5 races, taking 10 podium finishes and placing third in the World Championship in spite of breaking his ankle mid-season and missing races. Before the ankle injury, however, Stoner shocked the world when he announced he would retire at the age of 27 at the end of the 2012 season and set off to live his life on his farm in Australia with his wife and young daughter.
Honda lured Stoner out of retirement in 2013, however, to serve in the role of MotoGP test rider, a role he continued into 2015. And apparently, riding occasionally led Stoner to want to compete again. He signed up to race for Honda in the Suzuka 8-Hours (which ended in a controversial crash caused by a stuck throttle), and before that he volunteered his services to race as a fill-in for injured Dani Pedrosa at the Grand Prix of the Americas, although Honda did not take Stoner up on his offer.
Some media outlets are speculating that Ducati wants Stoner to serve as a test rider and possibly race as a wild card at selected events, but Ducati has not stated that on the record.
Stoner, who is regularly active on his Twitter feed, has not offered any comment on these news stories.