Casey Stoner completed two days of testing for Honda this week at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Sporting leathers reminiscent of those once worn by three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer, the 29-year-old Australian spent the first day of the test lapping the 2.98-mile circuit on next year’s RC213V with current Bridgestone slicks.
The two-time world champion had not sat on a MotoGP bike since last October. “It took some time to get used to riding the bike again,” Stoner admitted. “Everything felt good, I got back into the swing of things pretty quickly, and we got on with the testing program HRC had planned.”
Stoner said he tried setups on the new machine for current MotoGP champ Marc Marquez and his Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa. “Analyzing these side by side,” he said, “we found some interesting differences and useful data.” Honda did not release lap times.
On the second day, Stoner sampled new Michelin rubber. The French company will become the MotoGP spec-tire supplier in 2016. “All in all,” he said, “it was very positive test. We completed a lot of laps.”
Stoner retired from competition at the conclusion of the 2012 MotoGP season with 45 race wins, 38 in the premier class.
