Stoner to Ducati

The retirement of Sete Gibernau created the opportunity, ie. a ride with a factory team, that was too good to pass up.

"I'm really happy to have been given this opportunity to race with the Ducati Marlboro Team next year", Stoner said. "Ducati have made a lot of progress in the last couple of years and I think they can also do a great job with the new 800."