Casey Stoner has ruled out a return to MotoGP ahead of a private two-day test run on Honda’s 2015 bike.
The two-time MotoGP world championship winner last rode for Honda during the 2012 season, calling it quits on an impressive career at the age of 27 after seeking more time with his young family and tiring of the sport’s behind-the-scenes political feuds.
Stoner will fly to Japan next week where he “will test (the Honda) 2015 machine in Motegi after the Malaysian GP on 29th and 30th October, one day with Michelin and one day with Bridgestone,” Honda Racing Corporation recently announced.
But Stoner has warned fans not to get their hopes up for a surprise comeback, saying his return to the bike is a “one-off”.
“At this point it’s just a one-off test, I haven’t really discussed to go any further,” Stoner said at last weekend’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
“We’ll be testing the 2015 bike (on) some of the tyres that are going to be coming in the future, and really to get a little bit of an understanding.”
Stoner is replacing Honda’s regular Japanese rider, injured in a recent crash, and is making up for a missed testing date last year.
“Last year, unfortunately we had two tests completely rained out and one of them mostly rained out,” Stoner told SPEED.
“Out of the four tests we didn’t get a lot of days, so I said I’d do this test for them to make up for what we lost last year.”
Stoner experimented with second tier V8 Supercars last year, but retired after one season in September 2013, fuelling speculation of an eventual return to MotoGP.
Photo: Paul Crock/Getty Images
