Ducati celebrate 'big step' in title bid

Reigning champion Stoner has now won the last two races, but with title rivals Rossi and Dani Pedrosa consistently finishing on the podium, the Australian had suspected it would be almost impossible to close the points deficit that had developed when he was struggling in the early part of the season.

However, the Dutch TT result has brought Stoner back to within 25 points of Rossi, and 29 points of new championship leader Pedrosa.

"We kept losing points and losing points, and the last few weekends we've been quite stationary," said Stoner. "We've all had a first, second and third each.

"Today was a big step for us to close the championship gap. We've finished every race except for Le Mans. We've had some bad luck and some bad management by myself. It's nice to come back and still not be too far from the front of the championship, considering the season we've had."

Stoner urged his team to keep pushing now that they had rediscovered winning form.

"We're still quite a way off. We're definitely more within reach now, but we still need to keep the pressure on and keep moving forward," he said.

"If we start getting the same results that we were before, then we're just going to stay even and where we are. We still have quite a lot of points to catch up, but I'm definitely a lot more confident for the rest of the season that we can gain some points."

Ducati team boss Livio Suppo agreed that while the current situation was still a far cry from their dominant 2007 season, Stoner was starting to look like a title contender again.

"It's different (to 2007). Now we have to catch up - it's more exciting," Suppo told reporters at Assen.

"Of course what happened today was something unexpected. It's difficult to expect Valentino to make a mistake, and today he did it and crashed by himself.

"Now the championship's more open. There's still a long way to go and it's too early to speak about it. But it would be stupid to say it didn't help."

Stoner has been a dominant force since changes to the Ducati's engine management system allowed him to take a big step forward in the post-race test at Barcelona earlier this month.

"He found half a second on the Tuesday at Barcelona and since then he's kept it," Suppo said. "Let's hope he keeps it for the rest of the season."

The reigning champion believes he can maintain his current momentum at the forthcoming Sachsenring and Laguna Seca races.

"These next two circuits seem to be quite good for us," Stoner said. "We rode well last year, and with the way the bike and tyres are working at the moment, we can hopefully expect to have some really good results."