LONDON, England - Honda Racing has apologised to Australian racer Casey Stoner for a throttle malfunction that left the former MotoGP champion with broken bones after a crash at a Suzuka 8 Hour endurance race.
Stoner, in his first competitive outing since he retired from MotoGP at the end of 2012, came off his factory Honda bike at the Japanese circuit on Sunday (July 26 2015), fracturing a shoulder blade and tibia. (clarify that for readers, pse. L)
The 29-year-old won the MotoGP title in 2007 and 2011.
NEW PROBLEM
Stoner blamed a stuck throttle for the high-speed crash and on Wednesday (July 29 2015) Honda confirmed a malfunction had been discovered in the throttle cable.
A Honda statement read: "This kind of problem hasn't arisen before. Honda Racing Corporation will cease using this throttle specification and will design a new one for endurance races.
"HRC would like to apologise to Casey Stoner and thank him for the effort he made in attending the Suzuka 8 Hour."
WATCH Casey Stoner crash during the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hour