Stoner hopes for trouble-free run in Italy

The Australian hit trouble at the French Grand Prix when fighting for a podium finish after his Ducati suffered an engine problem caused by a faulty component.

Stoner returned to the pits and finished 16th using his second bike in what was the world champion's first non-scoring race since the Comunidad de Valencia event in 2006.

Now the world champion is hoping for a strong race in Mugello to straighten a shaky start to the season.

"Last year we missed the podium by a little bit but the race was still important because we learnt some things about the bike that helped us be competitive at the races that followed," said Stoner in a team preview.

"This year we arrive on the back of a tough race, where we had a problem that prevented us from scoring a podium, but on the whole it was a positive weekend because we had a fast and consistent pace going during practice.

"Hopefully we can manage to be just as fast at Mugello but have a good race too - for the fans, who always create such a special atmosphere in Italy, but mainly for everybody at Ducati and the guys in the team, who are working so hard and deserve a top result."

Stoner is 41 points behind championship leader Valentino Rossi after the first fives races of the year.