Stoner says 'no' to MotoGP wildcards

The opening day of the two day test at Twin Ring Motegi was washed out, so Stoner got precious little track time. But on the second day (Wednesday, August 7) a full day of running enabled Stoner to cover a total of 47 laps.

Stoner began the day on the 2013 HRC RC213V MotoGP machine, and continued into the afternoon, then switching to the 2014 prototype.

"Thankfully today the weather improved a lot, in fact it was pretty hot, and we were able to get some good track time and work on our test programme," Stoner explained of the day. "We had a productive day in general and thankfully the test plan wasn't too hectic, so we were able to get most of it done today after yesterday's washout. It was great to see the team, even if there were only a few people here, and I thank Honda for all their support as ever."

Quashing rumours that he may be returning as a wildcard for selected rounds between now and the end of the 2013 MotoGP campaign, Stoner continued:

"It felt really good to get back on the bike after nine months and I'm happy with how the test went, but it doesn't change my mind about the wildcards - this is not something I am planning to do."

Shuhei Nakamoto, HRC Executive Vice President, did however reveal that Stoner is set for more test outings in the near future.

"Over the course of Casey's two-day test, we've been able to gather a vast amount of data and ideas for development," Nakamoto began. "Consequently, we aim to increase our pace of development and hope that this, in-turn, will lead to us winning this year's championship. We focused exclusively on the RC213V, but in future tests we'll get Casey to test-ride the tentatively named MotoGP Production Racer and assist in raising its level of performance even further."

Also at Motegi were the Yamaha Test Team, as well as Suzuki, with Randy de Puniet continuing his programme. At Brno in the Czech Republic, Yamaha Factory Racing were in attendance with both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi putting in testing laps.

Image: motogp.com