Stoner insists Ducati wild-card “not in my programme”

The 2007 premier class champion made his third outing of the year last week at Misano in a two-day test that the team said left Stoner feeling "exhausted". 

It was his first time on the Desmosedici GP bike since he rode at Qatar in March, although he will appear again later in the month at the Red Bull Ring.

Stoner said that he and Ducati have not planned anything beyond the collective Austrian test, which takes place on 19-20 July.

Asked again during the World Ducati Week event at Misano last weekend if he might make a wild-card appearance this season, the Australian replied: "It's not part of my programme for the moment.

"In my programme, there's only the test in Austria. After that, we'll talk about the future and about other tests.

"It's important for me to do these tests and I'm preparing myself for that. For now, I only have that in mind and I have no [further] plan."

Ducati team boss Gigi Dall'Igna re-iterated that it was not the Italian manufacturer's wish to see Stoner, who remains the last rider to win a grand prix for Ducati, race in 2016.

"We've already said this many times: to run a wild-card is not our objective with Casey," he said.

Additional reporting by Matteo Nugnes