Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo expects dual world champion Casey Stoner to make a handful of MotoGP wildcard appearances with Ducati next year.
Since retiring at the end of 2012, Stoner has worked with Honda as a test rider, but he split with the manufacturer last month to take up a similar role with Ducati.
Scope for the Australian to make wildcard MotoGP starts on a third factory Ducatialongside Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone has been mooted, and it is something 2015 world champion Lorenzo is expecting.
Stoner was keen to stand-in for the injured Dani Pedrosa earlier this year, but Honda opted against it.
"Surely he will be encouraged to run as a wildcard in some races; I think that is their intention," Lorenzo said in a MotoGP.com interview.
"I thought last [season] he would be out in a race, but at the end, due to circumstances, he wasn't.
"He will want to go out on Phillip Island or some other tracks, surely we will see him fighting with us, I think for victory."
Stoner won 38 MotoGP races with Ducati and Honda between 2007 and '12, however his only race since then was the Suzuka 8 Hours in July, in which he was injured in a crash.
Ducati has not won a race since Stoner left the Italian manufacturer at the end of 2010, but Lorenzo feels the 30-year-old would be strong if he returned.
"I have seen very few, if any, riders with the natural talent of Casey, to be fast right away with any bike and in all weather conditions," he said.
"It would be great news for everyone if Casey were to decide to come compete again.
"MotoGP is very difficult, many riders are fighting for victory, but having Casey back would be amazing.
"Hopefully he decides to return."
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