Aussie Casey Stoner and Ducati parted on good terms following a second place finish at Valencia.

Australia’s Casey Stoner and the Ductai Marlboro Team have parted on good terms after the pair raced to second place in their final outing together at Valencia’s MotoGP season finale in Spain on Sunday.

The 2007 world champion lead 22 of 30 laps after claiming pole position, happy with the result before switching to Honda in readiness for Tuesday’s test, which will mark his debut aboard a factory Repsol Honda.

“I have so many great memories of these past few years with Ducati, from my first win at Qatar in 2007 and that race in Barcelona the same year, to the title success at Motegi and my wins at Phillip Island,” Stoner reflected.

“I have enjoyed every single victory on the Ducati so much and I want to thank them for so many great years together. I leave behind a lot of people that I will miss, like Filippo [Preziosi], Vitto [Guareschi] and the others but even though we will be rivals on the track from now on our personal relationship will stay the same. I also want to thank all the Ducati fans for their support over these past four years.”

Ducati Corse general directory Preziosi was sad to see Stoner leave on Sunday afternoon, albeit looking forward to having Vale Rossi onboard for 2011.

“Right now I feel a mixture of sadness and pride because I feel we weren’t able to give Casey the opportunity to win this race,” the Italian commented. “Every time we have been able to do that he has won or been on the podium.

“With 23 victories he has won more than any other rider in the 800cc era, as well as 42 podiums, 21 pole positions and of course the title in 2007. It is difficult to find any other words for him than thank you.”

The weekend’s result at Valencia earned Stoner fourth in the world championship for the 2010 season.