Honda LCR rider Casey Stoner battled windy track conditions and tyre problems to set the sixth fastest time in free practice for his home race , the Australian Grand Prix. Stoner set his fastest in this morning’s session but was unable to complete a race simulation on his preferred Michelin tyre choice. Stoner’s LCR crew believes that the young Australian was the fastest rider today on race tyres for Michelin. Weather conditions were sunny but cool and windy in the afternoon.

“Today Casey and the team were not happy with the overall performance of the tyres allocated by Michelin although they have a large stock of tyres and we are confident of some solutions tomorrow. The problem is the left-side of the tyre on this track, which has a majority of left corners. The positive side is that Casey appears to be the fastest Michelin rider on race tyres.”

“It’s great feeling to be back the Island, although I’m just trying to concentrate on what I’m doing out on the track. Unfortunately we’ve had some problems today and I’m hoping we can find the answers so that I can be competitive for the race. I found a tyre I liked this morning for my fast time but then some other riders complained about it, because it took about four laps to really perform, and then Michelin did not have this tyre on our list for the afternoon. And then the wind came up and upset the balance of the bike, pushing the front on corner exits and we changed the set-up looking for rear grip but went backwards -- mainly because I had too many tyres to test. We wasted a lot of time this afternoon and I did not get a chance to do a race test on my preferred tyre. I’ve had some treatment on back and that’s OK.”