Stoner: Ducati are back on track

The reigning champion won the season-opener in Qatar but then endured a run of poor races before regaining pace in recent rounds.

But Donington Park was the first track since Losail where Stoner had been able to produce a concerted challenge for victory.

"The best thing for us is the fact that we know we can fight a little bit harder," Stoner said.

"These last three races have been pretty good for us and we've been able to run towards the front again.

"Considering the first few races after Qatar were just a disaster for us, it's nice to be back on track."

The Ducati rider was fastest in all but one of the practice sessions in Britain, and led the race from start to finish.

"This weekend has just gone well," he said. "We started with some good lap times in the first session and it's just improved from there. Wet and dry, we've been very competitive.

"I have to thank my team a lot because we've been working pretty hard to solve whatever our problem has been this year."

Having been similarly competitive in the post-race test at Catalunya, Stoner now hopes that Ducati's set-up changes prove equally effective at the other upcoming tracks.

"We hope that this system that we're using now isn't just going to be good for these two tracks that we've tested it on, we hope that it can go to all the circuits for the rest of the season," he said.

"But we're very, very happy to be running at the front again."