Stoner says still 'pinching' himself

The Australian Ducati rider, who had not won a MotoGP race until this year, has scored five victories in eight races to move 26 points ahead of seven-time champion Valentino Rossi in the standings.

Stoner scored a dominant win in the wet at Donington last weekend to arrive at Assen as the favourite for a third victory in a row.

He insists, however, that he is not changing his approach for this weekend's race.

"I'm still sort of pinching myself everyday to try and believe it is actually happening," Stoner told a news conference ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. "It really is a dream to me.

"But it is happening and we still have to come to this circuit with the same mentality as we had in the past and try to do our best, try to get the best set-up for the race and see what happens."

The Australian reiterated his criticism of the Assen circuit following the changes made to the Dutch track in time for last year's race.

"I really don't find it quite as enjoyable," he added. "The old circuit was brilliant. Some of the corners were unbelievable. Now it just seems to be another tight, twisty circuit like Sachsenring and it's quite difficult to get a rhythm sometimes."