In not-so-shocking news, ex-MotoGP champion Casey Stoner has accepted an offer from HRC to test the 2014 RCV213V and Honda’s new production racer at Motegi, Japan, sometime soon. The super-fast Aussie has been busy racing V8 Supercars in Australia but has tempted out of retirement and lined-up to make a few appearances as a test rider for his former employers.
This is probably good news for racers who’ll be riding the new ‘proddie’ racer in 2014 (Scott Redding, Jonny Rea, etc?). Usually, an ageing test rider that’s two or three seconds off the pace will develop a bike, but one of the fastest blokes to ever ride a motorcycle, who’s fit and fresh, should be up to the job.
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Will he make a comeback at his home round at Phillip Island? If Stoner is breaking lap records at Motegi and feels like he could beat Marc Marquez, then it’ll be difficult to bet against a wildcard at his favourite playground – let’s just say it might be worth a sneaky trip to the bookies. But we can’t see him coming back full-time in 2014, what with family duties and an easy life back home. Or could he?
