Stoner laments cold shoulder from Rossi

Stoner, who sealed his first world title in Japan last month, described five-time champion Rossi as one of his idols after setting the fastest time in practice on Friday for Sunday's Australian MotoGP.

"I actually spoke to Rossi this year and basically told him I didn't want it to end up like it did with Sete or Max Biaggi," Stoner told reporters, referring to the Italian's cool relationship with rivals Sete Gibernau and Biaggi.

"Unfortunately, he hasn't really spoken to me in a while now and he seems to be throwing in a few comments that I'm not really so happy with, but I've got no issues with him," the 21-year-old added.

"He's been one of my idols for a long time, myself and a few of my friends, we used to go out and watch every session of his. We were just in awe of his talents and just the way he used to dominate."

Ducati rider Stoner set the quickest time in rain-hit practice on Friday, ahead of Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa, with Rossi only fourth fastest on his Yamaha.