Stoner raced at a strong pace from beginning to end at Phillip Island to clear up any doubts on his fitness, now Casey Stoner is due to challenge the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Tough heat and humidity are what is in store at the Sepang track, this will provide Stoner with another test in his recovery.

Stoner was happy with his physicality at Phillip Island and with a victory at Sepang, the 24 year-old is expecting the 5,548km long circuit to be a great challenge, he finished sixth there last season.

“In the past I used to like racing in the heat but last year in Malaysia I was racing with a wrist injury and I’ve had the physical problems everybody knows about, so I suppose it’s a combination of factors that I have suffered with in recent hot races,” said Stoner. “But at Phillip Island things went so well from a physical point of view that I feel reasonably confident.”

“Sepang will definitely be a tough race as being fast and consistent in those conditions is always difficult regardless. It is not easy to find the perfect set-up there but that’s always been the case and with every day that passes I feel stronger and more confident that I can be competitive in both of the two races that remain.”

Stoner’s colleague Nicky Hayden always seems to place fourth at Sepang, except in 2007, the American will be looking to put Phillip Island behind him, when his first lap crash with Jorge Lorenzo resulted in 15th spot.

“I wouldn’t say that Malaysia is one of my favourite circuits and it’s almost as if I’ve got ownership on fourth place there because I’ve finished in that position five times out of six!” says Hayden. “Having said that if I were to manage fourth place this year I’d probably be more than happy. We’ve arrived here on the back of a disappointing weekend in terms of what might have been but that’s over now and we have to look forward.”