Stoner Waivers on Motegi - Announces Baby is on the Way

The MotoGP World Championship resumed in full-force on Thursday in Brno, as the summer break concluded and the Czech GP began. The first gathering of the MotoGP riders since the official independent report on the safety concerning the Motegi circuit, all eyes were on Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo to see if their stance had changed regarding the postponed Japanese GP. With both riders softening their stance on boycotting the Japanese MotoGP round, it was Stoner who dropped the bigger bombshell, announcing that he and wife Adriana were expecting their first child. Saying that he would further consider racing at Motegi, Stoner admitted that the news he was about to become a family man influenced his decision to race at Motegi.

“There was a period basically after Silverstone where I felt very strongly that I wasn’t going to go there,” said Casey Stoner at the pre-race press conference. “I’d set in my mind there was no way I was going to Japan after things I’d seen and heard. But that came from a very strong emotion, after I found out that Adriana was pregnant. We’ve discussed it a lot since then and it’s a huge things that’s happened in my life and now the most important. For me to make that decision, I felt that was the best thing I could do at that time.”

“I’d made my mind up and there was no way I was going to risk my wife or my family and it was very tough,” continued Stoner. “But in these weeks I’ve taken a lot of data from Australia and people I feel I can trust on the matter and I’m now slightly more open to it than I was before. I was thinking a lot about the safety issues for my family but we will see in these next weeks and continue talking. I’m not saying that I’m going, but I’m not saying I’m not now. We’ve got a lot more information and a detailed description of what it is like over there and what the situation is. I’m still not convinced but I’m more open to the possibility of racing there. Adriana definitely won’t be going and I’ll be spending the minimal time possible if I did go.”