By Lisa Lewis

𒐪Ben Spies believes reigning double MotoGP champion Casey Stoner could be 'the fastest and the most talented person that's touched a road racing bike' - but that doesn't mean the Australian can't be beaten.

"I'm sure anything with wheels, Casey's fast," Spies told PitpassRadio.com, echoing recent comments by Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. "But I think anybodyဣ can be beaten...Valentino [Rossi] won so many races and never seemed like he could get beat but, you know, it can happen.

"Hopefully we can do that - beat Casey and win a championship for the U.S. That's the ultimate goal. But what we've seen is Casey is the fastest and the most tไalented per✅son, I would say, that's touched a road racing bike.

"But there's always a changing of the guard. We've seen it all types of racing. It's going to take a lot of work though. I've got to give it to Casey, the guy is just raw talent and scary fast - but li💧ke everyone he can be beaten for sure."

Stoner, who won the 2007 MotoGP🍃 title for Ducati and 2011 crown for Honda, was fastest by 0.6sec over Lorenzo at the first Sepang test earlier this month, using the new 1000cc bikes.

Spies - who won his first MotoGP race last✤ season - finished a respectable fourth during the test. The second pre-season outing starts in Malaysia on February 28.