MotoGP world champion
Casey Stoner heads to this weekend's German Grand Prix on the back of two crushing victories, but looking to banish memories of an unfortunate race last season.
Stoner has been in unstoppable form ever since an engine management breakthrough, winning convincingly at both
Donington Park and Assen to close to within 29 points of
Dani Pedrosa and the world championship lead.
The young Australian's recent displays have been reminiscent of his 2007 form, although Sachsenring saw a rare chink in the Stoner/Ducati/
Bridgestone armour when severe tyre endurance problems left Stoner to salvage fifth position.
"We feel quite confident for Sachsenring, where we were already competitive last year and it was only an issue with tyre life that prevented us from fighting for victory," said Stoner. "I'm sure this problem won't happen again this year because Bridgestone have not stopped working and they continually bring us great new material.
"The bike has been perfect for the last two races and I expect it to go well at Sachsenring too," he warned. "The track is a little different to most of the others because there are such long corners, which I don't like too much, but there are also some fun points and I'm happy to go racing there.
"It's been nice to have a few days' rest after such a demanding month - a weekend off isn't exactly a holiday but it's just enough to get your breath back and prepare for the next races."
Stoner has taken just one podium at Sachsenring - a second-place finish in the 250cc race in 2003 - but team-mate
Marco Melandri has taken victory on three occasions in the small classes; winning the 125cc race in 1999 and the 250cc race in 2001 and 2002.
Melandri also finished second in the MotoGP race two years ago, but such results seem a distant dream for a man openly linked with a mid-season switch to Kawasaki, after scoring just one top ten finish from the first nine rounds.
