Ducati boss praises 'unbeatable' Stoner

The Australian Ducati rider started his title defence in perfect fashion, going on to win MotoGP's first night race, crossing the finish line over five seconds ahead of Jorge Lorenzo after a slow start to the race.

"Casey did an amazing job as he always does," Suppo told the official MotoGP website. "At the beginning of the race it was tough but when he found his rhythm he was putting in very good laptimes, one after another.

"Every time Casey goes on track he is almost unbeatable, so we have to say thanks to him first of all. The bike is still working well, the top speed is still there and ride-ability is still there, fingers crossed.

"It's a good package, it's the package of a World Champion and I think Casey proved again why he has number one on his bike."

In contrast to Stoner's brilliance, teammate Marco Melandri continued to struggle for pace, finishing in 11th position out of 16 riders.

Suppo reckons Melandri needs to build up his confidence in the bike before he is able to get close to Stoner.

"I think Marco really just needed to race," said Suppo. "Finally after the halfway point in the race he put together some decent laptimes and I hope this will help him to build confidence in the package he has.

"He knows the package can win races and world championships so he must just believe in the package that he has."