Guareschi: “We have high aims for 2011”

The Ducati Team Manager discusses the 2010 campaign with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden and also previews 2011 in a video feature interview.

Vittoriano Guareschi reviewed his first season as Team Manager of the Ducati factory team in a special post-season interview, which can be viewed in the attached video, discussing the 2010 campaigns of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.

“This year has gone well and not so well for us. We suffered at the start, wasting some good opportunities, but in the end we have recovered. We started the season with a GP10 that had an engine that was unprecedented, a big bang version in contrast to the screamer that was used the year before. We had to work on the set-up for Casey and make the bike as familiar for him as possible,” said Guareschi, who continued to review the Australian’s season.

“At the start of the year, and until mid-season, we weren’t able to extract the full potential of the engine. Starting at Aragón we found a set-up that satisfied him fully and then we became main players. If it had been like this from the very start of the year then we would have been amongst those fighting for the title until the end.”

Rossi hoping to race at ‘100 per cent’

Valentino Rossi says the flowing nature of the Phillip Island course should prove less troublesome for his injured shoulder this weekend as he looks to build on his Malaysian Grand Prix success.

The Italian romped to his first win since suffering with both shoulder and leg injuries in separate accidents with a victory at Sepang, Rossi subsequently reviving his hopes of securing third in the MotoGP standings.

With less than a week to prepare for the Australian Grand Prix, Rossi is looking forward to racing at Phillip Island, claiming the fast, sweeping bends – and minimal harsh braking points – will create fewer problems for his pained shoulder.

"I hope I can race at 100 per cent here in Australia," the FIAT Yamaha rider said. "On paper it looks good for my shoulder because although there are many fast changes of direction there isn't so much heavy braking here. We will see."

"The Phillip Island track is great; something different compared to other tracks. It's so fast and it's important to find the right line. Here it is difficult to find the right balance between the fast and slow corners, but it always makes for great racing, especially in MotoGP."

Rossi is currently positoned third in the standings, though Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso are just one and two points behind respectively.