Casey Stoner Suzuka 8 Hours Crash Video
In his first official return to racing since retiring from MotoGP in 2012, Casey Stoner suffered a nasty crash. The accident – attributed to a stuck throttle – occurred during the second hour of the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours, round two of the FIM Endurance World Championship.
While piloting the HARC-Pro Honda CBR1000RR, the throttle stuck open, propelling the two-time MotoGP Champion (2007, Ducati; 2011, Honda) into a gravel trap. After tumbling, the 29-year-old Australian was taken to the medical center where he was diagnosed with a broken right shoulder and broken left tibia.
Stoner immediately blamed the accident on a stuck throttle, which was confirmed by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). On Wednesday, HRC also made a public apology three days following the Casey Stoner Suzuka 8 Hours crash: “HRC would like to apologize to Casey and thank him for the effort he made in attending the race. This kind of problem hasn’t arisen before. However, Honda Racing Corporation will cease using this throttle specification and will design a new one to be used for endurance races.”
Due to the crash, HARC-Pro Honda – the reigning Suzuka 8 Hours team that also featured World SBK’s Michael van der Mark and Takumi Takahashi – was forced to retire, suffering a DNF.
Taking the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours win was the Yamaha Factory Racing team, which returned to the endurance race following a 12-year hiatus. Joining the Yamaha Factory Racing team, which included MotoGP riders Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, were F.C.C. TSR Honda and Team Kagayama Suzuki, respectively.
