Stoner back to where it all began.

Casey Stoner's first ever ride on a road racing machine came at a Donington Park test in 2000 and - next weekend - the 21-year-old will return leading the MotoGP World Championship.

Just after Stoner's 14th birthday his parents Colin and Bronwyn sold up in Australia and moved to England to enable their son to start road racing, after an amazing dirt track racing career in which he won 41 Australian Dirt and Long Track titles and over 70 State titles.

"The trouble was that Casey was too young to start road racing in Australia and so we sold up and moved to England where he could start," explained father Colin. "His first ever ride on a road racing machine was at a test day at Donington in 2000 and his first race was just up the road at Mallory Park. He won the Aprilia Superteens Championship that first year and in 2001 he rode in both the Spanish and British 125cc championships."

In 2001 the Donington Park connection continued for the Australian when he made his first grand prix appearance as wild-card entry for the 125cc British GP before embarking on a full time grand prix career a year later.

It was a far cry from the Monaco lifestyle that Stoner enjoys now with the family first living in a caravan near Southport before moving to a flat in Penrith, Cumbria and traveling round Europe in a Motorhome. However, the sacrifices paid off as Stoner started to make real progress in the 125 and 250cc World Championships. Stoner won his first 125cc grand at Valencia in Spain in 2003 and joined the Ducati Marlboro MotoGP team at the start of this season

Stoner has had a truly remarkable time with the Italian factory, winning on his debut then claiming three further triumphs to build a 14 point lead over former five times champion Valentino Rossi heading into the British round.

"I always enjoy going back to England because that's where it all started and I have many friends and some great memories," confirmed Casey. "The season has been fantastic and just could not have been better. Of course it will be tough at Donington but we've already proved this year that the Ducati is good at a lot of circuits.

"I've never really cracked Donington but we'll see how we can piece it together this time. The flowing part is tough, down through Craner and into the Old Hairpin you're braking on the side of the tyres and the bike's moving around. I find the circuit a little dangerous in some points, if they improved that it'd probably be more enjoyable.

"Some of the other turns are a little bit funny, so it's really hard to try and compromise the set-up - whether you set it up for the tight and twisty bits, which are very important at the end of the race if you're in a battle, or if you set it up for the faster bits, where you make the time.

"I'm still not thinking about the championship, maybe later in the season we can start aiming for it, but the way we're going now is just perfect, so we're going to continue doing the same thing," he concluded.

First practice for the British Grand Prix takes place on Friday morning.