In a recent interview, two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner reflected on the most perilous incident of his racing career: a harrowing crash during the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. Stoner, who had retired from full-time competition in 2012, made a return to racing at Suzuka with the factory-backed MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO Honda team.
The incident occurred just over an hour into the race. As Stoner approached the hairpin turn, his Honda’s throttle malfunctioned, sticking open and propelling him uncontrollably toward the barrier. Despite his efforts to slow down, he was unable to prevent a violent collision. The crash resulted in a broken right shoulder blade and a fractured left tibia.
Reflecting on the crash, Stoner described the moments leading up to the impact: “I didn’t have enough time to engage the clutch [when the throttle stuck]. I picked the bike up to try to slow down but I was heading towards the wall, so I decided to lay it over and hit the barrier. Unfortunately, the barriers were a lot harder than they looked, and we came out of it with broken bones.”
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) conducted an investigation and confirmed that a throttle malfunction was the cause of the accident. The data revealed that the throttle was stuck open at 26 degrees before the crash. In response, HRC issued an apology to Stoner, stating: “HRC would like to apologise to Casey and thank him for the effort he made in attending the race.”
This incident stands out as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers in motorsport, even for seasoned professionals like Stoner. His resilience and determination to return to racing after such a traumatic event underscore the courage required to compete at the highest levels of motorcycle
racing.
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