MotoGP: Casey Stoner to Return at the Motegi Round

Casey Stoner is to rejoin the MotoGP paddock at Motegi. In a posting on his Repsol blog, Stoner confirmed that he will fly to Japan with the intention of trying to race. “I’ve been resting, having some physio and following doctor’s orders to recover. The good news is that I feel I can race in Motegi and will be rejoining my team next week and I can’t wait to get back on track,” the reigning World Champion wrote in his Repsol blog.

Stoner was forced to take a break from racing after badly damaging his ankle in a huge highside crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August. Though he raced that weekend, he was forced to pull out of the next event at Brno just a few days later, for fear of suffering permanent damage in the event of a crash.

The Australian has made no secret of his intention to try to win his home MotoGP round at Phillip Island at the end of October. At the press conference in Brno where he told the media he was pulling out of that event, he expressed a desire to return two races earlier, to give himself a chance to be competitive at Phillip Island.

With the surgery a success and his recovery proceeding well, it appears that he has achieved his goal. Whether Stoner is actually fit enough to race will only be clear once he tries the bike, but his intention is clearly to do so.

This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.