Casey Stoner’s recent trip to Italy to visit the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan saw him also head to the VR46 Motor Ranch to link up with his former🦄 MotoGP rival Valentino Rossi, as well as the members of the Italian’s VR46 Riders Academy.

Luca Marini, a part of the VR46 Academy since it was formalised in 2014, enjoyed Stoner’s technical knowledge of modern MotoGP — a sport Stoner left 12 years ago — and ꦬhis perspective on the state of the sport at the moment.

“I have a very good respect for him, he’s a rider with incredible talent and speed,🃏 with also a very clever mind.

“I didn’t expect that also he’s so technically ‘prepared’. It’s super interesting to speak with him about𒀰 this era of MotoGP, about the past; I think he has really great ideas.

“Let’s see in th𝓰e f🍌uture if he has the energy to join us maybe with some position in MotoGP.”

The current HRC rider was unable to ride much with Stoner at the Ranch: “I didn’t ride with him on the last exit when he was fast; I just made at the beginning a few laps together to show him the track and ho🐼w to ride.”

However, the Italian was impress🧸ed by impressed by Stoner’s speed on 💟his first visit to the VR46 Ranch,

“[He was] super-fast,” Marini said. “He [Stoner] had a two-stroke so maybe not the perfect bike to be fast at t☂he [VR46 Motor] ไRanch but he was able to make a very good lap time for the first time.

“I think he could be very satisfied, he ma♊de a good job.”