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Casey Stoner Refuses Honda's Wildcard Offer

The latest rumors in the MotoGP paddock say that Casey Stoner turned down an offer from Honda Racing Corporation for having him as a wildcard this autumn.
Casey Stoner in the Honda days 1 photo
Photo: caradvice.com.au
While this whole affair is in dire need of confirmation from Stoner, Honda or other sources that are close to the matter, we cannot help linking this new rumor to what we heard earlier this summer. Namely, Stoner and HRC are not exactly in the best of terms, and the relationship between the Australian rider and the house of Tokyo are rumored to grow colder.

Is HRC thinking about making up to Stoner for two "delicate" moments?

Apparently HRC tried to make up for two moments that Stoner didn't take kindly at all. The first is HRC's refusal to offer him a seat on the bike of injured Dani Pedrosa last spring, even though Stoner openly declared that he would gladly substitute for the factory rider.

Known for the vehemence he refused to return to premier class racing after his retirement, Casey Stoner changed his mind last spring, and though he could give Honda a helping hand substituting for Dani Pedrosa, and was not shy to express his disappointment in Honda's decision to have test rider Hiroshi Aoyama on the factory bike.

The second iffy moment was the Suzuka 8 Hour race this summer, when Stoner was part of the team. The Oz-based rider crashed very hard few laps into his first stint, breaking an ankle, a tibia, and a shoulder blade. The incident occurred at a high speed because the bike throttle stuck open at 26 degrees, forcing Stoner out of the track into a violent crash.

Stoner told the media what happened, and later Honda confirmed his declarations, upon inspecting the wrecked bike. HRC apologized to Stoner officially, but we just know this was only polite, and did nothing to soothe Stoner's frustration... and injuries.

So the rumors regarding HRC offering Stoner a wildcard ride at Honda's home circuit Motegi or at the Australian's home track at Phillip Island CAN be seen as an attempt to make up for what happened.

With the Motegi and Phillip Island rounds taking place on October 11th and 18th, respectively, we can estimate that Stoner's physical condition could be back to "racing parameters," but it looks like the will to race is the missing element, according to the French division of EuroSport.

Should we take Ducati's "forever open door for Stoner" more seriously?
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