Whispers that Casey Stoner still “super-fast” after unexpected Tavullia outing

Casey Stoner’s recent trip to Italy to visit the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan saw him also head to the VR46 Motor Ranch to link up with his former MotoGP rival Valentino Rossi, as well as the members of the Italian’s VR46 Riders Academy.

Luca Marini, a part of the VR46 Academy since it was formalised in 2014, enjoyed Stoner’s technical knowledge of modern MotoGP — a sport Stoner left 12 years ago — and his perspective on the state of the sport at the moment.

“I have a very good respect for him, he’s a rider with incredible talent and speed, with also a very clever mind.

“I didn’t expect that also he’s so technically ‘prepared’. It’s super interesting to speak with him about this era of MotoGP, about the past; I think he has really great ideas.

“Let’s see in the future if he has the energy to join us maybe with some position in MotoGP.”

The current HRC rider was unable to ride much with Stoner at the Ranch: “I didn’t ride with him on the last exit when he was fast; I just made at the beginning a few laps together to show him the track and how to ride.”

However, the Italian was impressed by impressed by Stoner’s speed on his first visit to the VR46 Ranch,

“[He was] super-fast,” Marini said. “He [Stoner] had a two-stroke so maybe not the perfect bike to be fast at the [VR46 Motor] Ranch but he was able to make a very good lap time for the first time.

“I think he could be very satisfied, he made a good job.”