Casey Stoner discussed MotoGP comeback with Honda to replace Dani Pedrosa at Austin

CASEY Stoner talked with Honda about ending his exile from MotoGP and riding in this weekend’s race at the Circuit of The Americas.

HONDA is still open to Casey Stoner making a shock return to MotoGP, but only with the right preparation.

Stoner was mooted as a possible contender to race the second factory Repsol Honda machine, with Dani Pedrosa set to miss the next two races after having surgery to rectify ongoing ‘arm pump’ in his forearms.

The two-time MotoGP world champion is one of two riders Honda has under contract for testing duties, the other being Japanese racer Hiroshi Aoyama.

Few were surprised when it was Aoyama that was given the nod as Pedrosa’s replacement for the Austin and Argentina rounds, with the Spaniard sidelined for four to six weeks following his operation.

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The big surprise is that Honda and Stoner genuinely discussed the prospect of the 29-year-old replacing Pedrosa for this weekend’s MotoGP race in the United States.

“Yes, we have talked about it,” Repsol Honda team manager Livio Suppo told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“There were some pros, but more cons, so we decided it would be better to leave it.”

Stoner’s only communication on the subject came in the form of this tweet over the Easter weekend:

Sorry to everyone but I am not racing @circuitamericas next weekend, it would have been an honour to ride for @26_DaniPedrosa #NotMeantToBe

— Casey Stoner (@Official_CS27) April 2, 2015

Stoner is set to end his retirement from motorcycle racing this July when he rides for Honda in the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race, and has acted as a test rider for Honda on-and-off over the last couple of years.

But thoughts that he would actually return to MotoGP — even as a wildcard, never mind as a full-timer — were always considered to be far-fetched.

Despite an ankle injury, Stoner won his final home MotoGP race.

He retired at the top of his game at the end of 2012, and arguably as MotoGP’s top rider, but the then 27-year-old was disillusioned with the direction the sport was taking.

MotoGP had recently introduced what was effectively a production-based class that, he felt, diluted a sport whose bread and butter were specialised prototype machines, which themselves were being increasingly watered down by advances in electronic rider aids.

Coupled with his rocky relationship with all that goes with being a MotoGP rider — dealing with media, paddock politics, etc — along the enjoyment he has found at being free to spend time with his family and do whatever he wants out of the public eye, and the accepted wisdom was that the chances of Stoner returning to MotoGP were non-existent.

But it seems that a key factor in the decision not to make a return was none of those things: it was a lack of time to prepare.

“People don’t realise how high is the level (of competition). Having won a lot doesn’t mean one is immediately quick on his return,” Suppo added.

“Casey doesn’t know the upcoming two tracks, and in the last two years he has only run for four days with this bike.

Stoner tested a MotoGP bike in Malaysia in January.

“I understand a return may spark people’s imagination, everyone would have liked it, but what if he wasn’t quick? What would people have said and written then?

“Casey is Casey, but do we really think he may trouble Marc (Marquez) these days?”

Suppo gave the recent return of Troy Bayliss to World Superbike racing and Michael Schumacher’s return to Formula 1 as examples of comebacks that failed to have fairytale conclusions.

But if Stoner is ever serious about making a comeback, Honda will be listening.

“If he seriously wants to return, he must prepare,” Suppo said.

“Entering a one-off race would be more of a disadvantage, for us and for him, with the added risk of getting hurt. And anyway, I keep on believing that he doesn’t want to race full time.

“A wild card entry at the end of the season? He can ask us and we’ll think about it.”

Originally published as Casey Stoner discussed MotoGP comeback with Honda to replace Dani Pedrosa at Austin