Stoner hits out at Japanese factories

On the back of Stoner's and Ducati's maiden MotoGP crown last year, moves have been made in recent weeks to try and impose a rev limit in the sport, which would penalize Ducati the most.

And having expressed displeasure many times at not being given enough credit for winning the crown last year, Stoner is furious at his opposition's approach.

"It's been frustrating because everyone said my results were down to other things," he said in an interview with the Times. "It was traction control or the tyres or the bike. It pissed me off.

"Now the Japanese factories have been trying to bring in new rules to squish us down. You think about the amount of manpower they have compared to an Italian manufacturer and they are running scared. They are trying to use politics to bring down Ducati when they should just work harder."

Stoner has also said that his relationship with Valentino Rossi changed throughout the course of last season, when it became clear just how strong he was on track.

"At the beginning of last season it was fantastic and he was giving credit, it was a real good time," Stoner said. "By the end of the season he never spoke to me. He did not like the fact that I was able to come in and win."

Having topped the times in the recent qualifying practice session at the official MotoGP test at Jerez, Stoner has given every indication that he will be just as strong this season.

And he believes that Ducati have made improvements with their bike - especially in acceleration where the team were already so good.

"Despite what anyone else thinks, we were struggling for bottom-end acceleration last season," he explained. "We've changed the chassis so that the bike's easier to ride coming out of turns. I'm not expecting to win the title but I'm working hard."