Stoner fears Pedrosa more than Rossi

Ducati's Stoner, who won the 28th Australian Sport Awards on Wednesday, claimed the 2007 MotoGP title ahead of second-placed Spaniard Pedrosa on a Honda and Yamaha's Rossi.

"Last year Valentino Rossi didn't finish second but third. Therefore I should fear Pedrosa more. Anyway it is better to be chased than to chase," the 22-year-old told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

He added: "We cannot try to keep this (the number one) without a lot of hard work. At the moment the pre-season testing is going very very well. We've improved the bike a lot in a lot of the areas that we really struggling last year. So at the moment I feel very comfortable.

"Also Bridgestone has done a fantastic job: we've improved a little bit with a couple of new tyres and we are just waiting for the beginning of the season. But I try not too expect too much from this season. I'll try to do the same we did last year and work hard at this."

Rossi, who has won seven world titles, finished outside the top two last year for the first time in any category since his rookie season in 1996. He blamed Michelin tyres and has switched to Bridgestone.

Stoner made similar remarks about Rossi earlier this year but the Italian has largely resisted the temptation to take the bait and start a war of words.

The season opens on March 9 in Qatar with the first-ever night race.