Davies: Stoner can test with us - but not race!
Chaz Davies says he would welcome Casey Stoner with open arms to help test the Ducati Panigale R but won't be inviting him to race in World Superbikes any time soon.
Davies says was thrilled to see the former two-time MotoGP world champion return to Ducati having split from Honda during the winter.
The Australian has been involved heavily in both private and public MotoGP tests with the factory Ducati squad at Sepang, ending the final day of the public test fifth quickest overall and fastest Ducati rider.
Stoner also continues to be linked with wildcard entries in MotoGP at Phillip Island, Mugello and Misano which would mark an intriguing comeback after retiring from racing in 2012 but no racing comeback has been confirmed.
As well as working with the MotoGP team, Stoner may also test the World Superbike-spec Ducati Panigale R this year alongside Davies and his team-mate Davide Giugliano which the Welsh rider would openly welcome.
"I'm happy and I think it is only a benefit to have Casey," Davies said at the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team launch. "With Casey you are going to see the limit of any motorcycle that you put him on very quickly, normally two or three laps!
"The character of Casey with his feedback is always very precise so it can only be a benefit to everybody in Ducati, including myself and Davide, with our bike so for me it would be interesting."
Davies also joked that although he would be thrilled to have Stoner as a WSBK test rider he isn't prepared to see the Australian compete against him in the production bike series.
"He is obviously very experienced and I don't need to tell you how fast he is," he said. "So I would be interested to see him on this bike - only on a test not a race!"
The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider is gearing up for the final pre-season test at Phillip Island in preparation for the 2016 curtain raiser in Australia on the 26-28 February.
