More known for his exploits on two wheels, Casey Stoner didn’t waste time turning heads on four after back-to-back top-10 finishes in practice ahead of his V8 Supercars second-tier debut in Adelaide.
Before he officially signed to drive with Holden’s premier touring car team Triple Eight’s Red Bull Racing, Stoner cheekily led a “will he, won’t he” social network campaign about his V8 future.
Now it seems to be a case “what won’t he do?” in touring cars after the two-time MotoGP world champion made his intentions clear in the Dunlop Series with two impressive practice runs on the tough Adelaide street circuit on Thursday.
Stoner, 27, was already the biggest thing to hit the second-tier series in its 13-year history when he finally put fans out of their misery and signed on to drive.
However, he somehow created an extra buzz by clocking the ninth fastest time in the 30-strong field in the first session before backing up to finish just 0.7sec from the top spot in the second and be eighth overall.
It was a remarkable effort considering Stoner had only driven a V8 around a track just twice before Thursday’s sessions.
Red Bull team owner Roland Dane was impressed enough after Stoner emerged from the carnage of an early red flag to record a best time of 1min:24.89 sec in the opening session on one of the world’s premier street circuits.
“It was a very good run out of the box,” Dane said.
“He was just 1.2 seconds off the quickest guys out there and he has never been to the circuit before or raced within the confines of the walls and the track was very green.
“We’re pretty happy with that.
“He finished top 10 with plenty of experienced guys all around him and behind him. So he is in the thick of the action.
“He did a great job first run out and I’m sure he’ll be more relaxed now.”
He sure was – Stoner clocked an even more impressive 1:23.43 lap in the second session as most fans licked their lips ahead of Friday’s qualifying and official race debut.
Stoner is driving three-time V8 champion Craig Lowndes’ former Commodore in a bid to break into the top touring car division.
Ford V8 gun Will Davison was already looking over his shoulder after Stoner blazed a trail around the Adelaide circuit in his trademark No.27.
“I don’t think he has any pressure on him,” Davison told AAP.
“No one can take away what he has achieved on two wheels.
“And he has shown he is pretty passionate about racing on four.
“I look forward to what he can achieve. It’s pretty exciting.”