Casey Stoner left frustrated after failing to win the Suzuka 8 Hours with a hard crash and injuries.
Honda's team MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO has won the annual endurance road race in 2013 and 2014, but failed to make it three in a row. They began this year's race at the third spot on the grid, but was unable to nab the title. At the end of the 24th lap, Takumi Takahashi entered the pits in 2nd position and two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner took over the reigns.
The 29-year-old Australian made his way up to the first position on the first lap, but crashed out at the Suzuka Hairpin.
Casey was immediately checked by the medical team and it was confirmed that he had broken his right shoulder blade and fractured his ankle.
After the race the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) staff was able to check the bike and they verified that the throttle was 26 degrees open before the crash. The bike will be sent to HRC for full inspection.
"I am really disappointed that the Suzuka 8 hours has ended like this," Stoner said.
"I did not have enough time to engage the clutch and I came in with too much speed, I picked the bike up to try to slow down more but I was heading towards the wall so I decided to lay it over and hit the barrier but unfortunately, they were a lot harder than they looked and we came out of it with a broken bone in the ankle and broken scapular.
"I want to say thanks to my team mates Michael van der Mark and Takumi Takahashi, – they have done a fantastic job over these weeks and this weekend especially.
"And I would also like to thank the team for how much effort everybody has put in. Their professionalism was outstanding and I really enjoyed working with them. I am very sorry that we could not achieve the strong result I believe we could have."
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