Tuesday, July 8 2008 -- Casey Stoner is the man everyone is looking at as the Aussie takes his title defense to the Sachsenring circuit when MotoGP arrives at Germany. Preparing to build on his traditionally strong practices at the circuit, Stoner will be looking to end the weekend on the top of the podium.

"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," says the Ducati Corse rider. Stoner's 2007 teammate, Loris Capirossi, gave Bridgestone their first podium at the track last year. The prospect of taking his first victory at the track is making his mouth water as Stoner is preparing to take advantage of his incredible purple patch and make the most of his winning habit.

"I'm sure this (tyre) 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," proclaims the Australian.

"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 been here just once as he missed the 2006 leg after suffering a concussion in the race warm-up that rendered him unavailable. He did race here in the 250cc class but could only manage second place. So this will be his true chance to grab a first ever win at the circuit.