Casey Stoner will be hoping for a return to the podium at Mugello this weekend.

Australian Casey Stoner will be looking to get his 2010 MotoGP World Championship season back on track when the series visits Valentino Rossi’s home circuit of Mugello in Italy this weekend, the Ducati Marlboro rider looking to bounce back from a crash-plagued season to date.

Stoner crashed out of the lead at the season opener in Qatar and went down again at Le Mans’ most recent round, however victory at Mugello last season has the team confident of returning to the winner’s circle on Sunday.

“Obviously Mugello hasn’t come at a positive moment for us but this is our situation and we have to try and look forward, taking things race by race and not worrying too much about the championship,” the 2007 MotoGP World Champion explained.

“That is what I am most interested in right now and we want to get the bottom of this problem we’re having with the front end. We have a few things to try at Mugello and we will be working as hard as always to achieve our goals. Generally the bike is working well and we have the pace to fight with the guys at the front so it is just a case of continuing to work hard to solve this issue.”

Ducati Corse general director Filippo Preziosi admits that it’s been a tough season for Stoner this year, however remains behind their world champ in a bid to make him comfortable on the Desmosedici GP10.

“Casey is definitely going through a difficult period but his talent is under no question and we will keep working calmly, as we always do, to try and improve the situation whether it is from a technical perspective like bringing some new forks, which we’ll be doing this weekend, or working on finding the right set-up for the race,” the Italian commented.

Since joining Ducati in 2007, Stoner has finished with fourth place that year, second in 2008, and won the event last season.