2011 MotoGP title leader and 29-time race winner Casey Stoner will be seeking to stand on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway podium for the very first time this weekend.
The Australian finished fourth in the inaugural Indy MotoGP in 2008, missed the 2009 event due to health problems, then crashed out early in last year's race.
That was with Ducati. The new Repsol Honda rider is expecting an easier time on the RC212V this weekend, especially since the bumpy infield section has now been resurfaced.
"In the past seasons the track at Indy has been extremely bumpy and also slightly dangerous so I'm looking forward to going there and riding the new surface," said Stoner, the 2007 world champion.
"It will also be nice to ride the Honda there, as it took a lot of work to get the set up right on the Ducati at such a peculiar circuit.
"I've only ridden the circuit in 2008 and 2010 and we were pretty competitive there last year, but then I lost the front in the race, so it will be good to get there, test the new surface and get to work on the set up on my RC212V".
Stoner extended his title advantage to a new high of 32 points over Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo with his sixth victory of the year last time out in the Czech Republic.
