Long story short, the rumor mill started spinning and some overly-enthusiastic road racing fans already see Casey Stoner as the substitute rider for HRC's Dani Pedrosa, in case the Spaniard misses the next round.
The past Sunday was a rather dismal day for the fans of Dani Pedrosa, who expected to see him battling at the top of the pack on the Losail International Circuit. Pedrosa’s performance was below these expectations as he struggled to claw as many points as possible and finished the race in the 6th position, which is pretty decent considering his condition.
After the race, Pedrosa decided to speak about his arm pump problem in an interview with motogp.com and revealed his medical condition he had been fighting for so long. “Well, it is kind of a long story, trying to be quick, basically in this race I had an arm pump issue, which has been there for a whole year. I started to have lots of problems here. Last year I struggled in every race, I couldn't really perform well and my results haven't been that good due to this fact,” he said.
The Spaniard also spoke about his previous surgery which failed to deliver the fix he was looking for and how other doctors recommended avoiding a new surgery due to the risk it came with. Pedrosa has spent the winter traveling around the world seeking for less invasive ways to mend the state of his arm.
However, it looks like Pedrosa's problems are far from being over, and his presence in the next round at the Circuit of the Americas is in doubt. "Now that the race is over and I can see that I cannot perform as I would like, I have to find a way to solve this problem. I cannot continue racing and performing this way, so my plan now is to try to fix my arm. I don't know exactly how I will do that, as I said the doctors are unsure, but I will try to get rid of this problem, and the team knows about it. I don't have too many answers at this moment, everything is quite uncertain, but I hope to have news soon.”
And this brings us to the possibility that Dani Pedrosa will skip a round or even more, and to the need that HRC finds a good replacement for him. There are, of course, Honda's test riders, among which we can also find the former MotoGP rider Hiroshi Aoyama. But there is always a but...
Casey Stoner, who prolonged his relationship with HRC and will continue to test Honda machinery, has also been confirmed as a member of the Endurance team and will ride in the Suzuka 8 Hour race.
Some say that Nakamoto-San, HRC VP, might try his absolute best to convince Stoner to get on Pedrosa's bike if Dani himself is unable to. Even though Stoner retired from motorcycle racing, he is still in contact with both the MotoGP prototypes and other Honda bikes, such as the endurance CBR1000RR.
Retired as he is, Stoner might still give MotoGP a try. Kevin Schwantz has been retired for so many years, but he occasionally races in the endurance series. More recently, Troy Bayliss, also a retired racer, came back for two WSBK rounds replacing injured Ducati rider Davide Giugliano, so similar examples and exceptions to the rule can be offered.
Whether Shuhei Nakamoto is considering Stoner as a real possibility, is yet unknown. Likewise, whether Casey Stoner himself is willing to give MotoGP a chance, even as a substitute rider, is a thing only he knows. Fact is that the premier class fans would rejoice seeing Stoner, who since also became a MotoGP Legend, ride again.
Stoner has ridden the 2015 version of the RC213V, so he's no stranger to it. And with his proven capabilities of understanding bikes others can't seem to get along with, he might even generate some neat surprises, too.
If anything, Stoner seems like a very good idea for a substitute rider in case Dani Pedrosa is forced to sit out of a round or two, fixing his arm pump issue.
The ever-increasing performance of the MotoGP bikes is yet another matter people close to this sport start to take into consideration more and more often. These bikes reach 220 mph (354 km/h) frequently and keeping them on the track requires a massive effort from the riders, especially under hard braking.
MotoGP sporting regulations also allow larger brake discs to increase the stopping power, but this also requires more physical effort from the pilots. The occurrence of tendinitis, arm pump and other medical conditions is on an ascending trend and forces the riders to train even harder.
Even so, due to the very nature of the sport, such conditions can at times have a dramatic impact on one's career. The way Freddie Spencer was forced to retire is quite relevant, even after all these years.
Pedrosa's fans already put up support campaigns online to show their appreciation for him. Hashtags such as #NoCorresSolo (Spanish for “you don't race alone”), #Siempre26 and more are already at work in social media.
We also wish Dani Pedrosa a quick and full recovery, even if he will have to miss several races. Being fit upon return is more important than simply being back in the same spot, with the same problems.
After the race, Pedrosa decided to speak about his arm pump problem in an interview with motogp.com and revealed his medical condition he had been fighting for so long. “Well, it is kind of a long story, trying to be quick, basically in this race I had an arm pump issue, which has been there for a whole year. I started to have lots of problems here. Last year I struggled in every race, I couldn't really perform well and my results haven't been that good due to this fact,” he said.
The Spaniard also spoke about his previous surgery which failed to deliver the fix he was looking for and how other doctors recommended avoiding a new surgery due to the risk it came with. Pedrosa has spent the winter traveling around the world seeking for less invasive ways to mend the state of his arm.
However, it looks like Pedrosa's problems are far from being over, and his presence in the next round at the Circuit of the Americas is in doubt. "Now that the race is over and I can see that I cannot perform as I would like, I have to find a way to solve this problem. I cannot continue racing and performing this way, so my plan now is to try to fix my arm. I don't know exactly how I will do that, as I said the doctors are unsure, but I will try to get rid of this problem, and the team knows about it. I don't have too many answers at this moment, everything is quite uncertain, but I hope to have news soon.”
And this brings us to the possibility that Dani Pedrosa will skip a round or even more, and to the need that HRC finds a good replacement for him. There are, of course, Honda's test riders, among which we can also find the former MotoGP rider Hiroshi Aoyama. But there is always a but...
Casey Stoner, who prolonged his relationship with HRC and will continue to test Honda machinery, has also been confirmed as a member of the Endurance team and will ride in the Suzuka 8 Hour race.
Some say that Nakamoto-San, HRC VP, might try his absolute best to convince Stoner to get on Pedrosa's bike if Dani himself is unable to. Even though Stoner retired from motorcycle racing, he is still in contact with both the MotoGP prototypes and other Honda bikes, such as the endurance CBR1000RR.
Retired as he is, Stoner might still give MotoGP a try. Kevin Schwantz has been retired for so many years, but he occasionally races in the endurance series. More recently, Troy Bayliss, also a retired racer, came back for two WSBK rounds replacing injured Ducati rider Davide Giugliano, so similar examples and exceptions to the rule can be offered.
Whether Shuhei Nakamoto is considering Stoner as a real possibility, is yet unknown. Likewise, whether Casey Stoner himself is willing to give MotoGP a chance, even as a substitute rider, is a thing only he knows. Fact is that the premier class fans would rejoice seeing Stoner, who since also became a MotoGP Legend, ride again.
Stoner has ridden the 2015 version of the RC213V, so he's no stranger to it. And with his proven capabilities of understanding bikes others can't seem to get along with, he might even generate some neat surprises, too.
If anything, Stoner seems like a very good idea for a substitute rider in case Dani Pedrosa is forced to sit out of a round or two, fixing his arm pump issue.
The ever-increasing performance of the MotoGP bikes is yet another matter people close to this sport start to take into consideration more and more often. These bikes reach 220 mph (354 km/h) frequently and keeping them on the track requires a massive effort from the riders, especially under hard braking.
MotoGP sporting regulations also allow larger brake discs to increase the stopping power, but this also requires more physical effort from the pilots. The occurrence of tendinitis, arm pump and other medical conditions is on an ascending trend and forces the riders to train even harder.
Even so, due to the very nature of the sport, such conditions can at times have a dramatic impact on one's career. The way Freddie Spencer was forced to retire is quite relevant, even after all these years.
Pedrosa's fans already put up support campaigns online to show their appreciation for him. Hashtags such as #NoCorresSolo (Spanish for “you don't race alone”), #Siempre26 and more are already at work in social media.
We also wish Dani Pedrosa a quick and full recovery, even if he will have to miss several races. Being fit upon return is more important than simply being back in the same spot, with the same problems.
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