Double Champion Casey Stoner returned to the MotoGP paddock at Portimao on Friday with Ducati quick to utilise the legend’s skills.

Having met up with fellow Australian Jack Miller on Thursday, a few jokes led to the former Ducati winner heading out trackside on Friday to assist the factory team’s line up and with obvious success.

Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller completed Friday’s opening day of practice second and third in the overall times with newly crowned MotoGP Champion Fabio Quartararo leading the way thanks to his penultimate 1’39.390 lap.

“Had an on track spotter today which was nice to have for a bit,” Miller said on Friday afternoon.

“You can’t really ask for a better one than him, I don’t think. He gave me some tips, what he was seeing on the track, as a spotter does. I think we’ll have to talk to Ducati for next year. See if we can get him in the budget to come to a few more races!

“We joked around a bit yesterday with it and he actually went and did it,” the Australian continued. “Saw a few different things, gave me a tip after FP1, I worked on it in FP2 and it was better. He had a few suggestions just as any other rider coach would do, but I think you pay a little bit extra attention when somebody like that’s telling you what he’s seeing on track, that’s for certain!”

“I met Casey for first time here yesterday and today he was like our coach,” Bagnaia added. “He was on track to see us and it’s nice to hear another point of view so I appreciate but is not a normal coach, he’s Casey Stoner! The only one to win with Ducati. For sure was great, I really appreciate it and maybe tomorrow will be more.”

“It’s nice to catch up with him anyway because I hadn’t seen him in a long time and it was good,” Miller reflected. “I think Casey is a legend, what he did in the sport was fantastic. Two-time world champion, multiple race winner, these incredible races, from start to finish leading. He was incredibly strong through his career. I hope to one day maybe have the same, just to even be able to be on the same trophy as him one day would be lovely.”

“They've always been on the brink,” Stoner said on Ducati’s prospects.

"For a long time now they've been close to having the complete package and getting the job done but unfortunately, it's again, which Ducati rider is going to be fast on which weekend. We need to see a little bit more consistency, maybe a bike that is going to suit all the tracks. We’ve always had that issue, all the manufacturers have good tracks and bad tracks but yeah, certain styles and certain circuits the Ducati does seem to struggle with. So they just need to create a little bit more consistency and a little bit, let's say, easier package at certain times but they've always been very, very close.

“I think if everything sort of swings their way, yes, they can win a championship but when you've got Yamaha that's producing a great package year after year - and I mean what a year Yamaha has had, across a whole lot of different forms of motorsport this year! They're constantly putting out a package that is very, very difficult to beat. You've got Marquez that when he's fit and healthy on the Honda, they're very difficult to beat. So it makes it tough for them. It's not just ‘throw some bikes out on track with a pilot on it that's going to do the job’, you need that whole package to work together and that can sometimes be difficult.”