Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/491629
IN THE WIND P26 CASEY RETURNS! NOT QUITE… D ouble World Champion, Casey Stoner, has quickly quashed rumors of a MotoGP return in place of injured Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, say- ing via twitter, "Sorry to everyone but I am not racing at Circuit of The Americas next weekend, it would have been an honor to ride for Dani Pedrosa." The tantalizing prospect of Stoner again racing in MotoGP was muted only minutes after Pedrosa announced he was due to miss both the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) and the Autó- dromo Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina) MotoGP rounds due to ongoing arm pump issues. The Spaniard underwent a sur- gery last Friday (3 April) in Ma- drid in a third attempt to resolve his arm pump issues, with an expected healing time of four to six weeks. Official Honda test rider, Hiroshi Aoyama, will fill his place at Repsol Honda while Pedrosa recovers. Repsol Honda team manager, Livio Suppo, said that while it would have been nice to see the two-time champ back in MotoGP, a racing return would undoubtedly have been a big ask as Stoner has not raced at either COTA or Argentina and the Australian has had limited time on the RC213V in private tests since retiring in 2012. "There were some pros, but more cons, so we decided it would be better to leave it," Suppo told Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport. "Casey doesn't know the upcoming two tracks, and in the last two years he has only run for four days with this bike. I understand a return may spark people's imagination, everyone would have liked it, but what if he wasn't quick? What would people have said and written then?" Casey Stoner has been ruled out as Dani Pedrosa's replacement for upcoming back- to-back MotoGP rounds. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE MCALLISTER DRAWS FIRST BLOOD R eigning AMA Pro Supermoto Champion, Gage McAllister, leads the 2015 champion- ship standings after taking the main event at Adams Motorsport Park in Riverside, CA, on April 4. McAllister and veteran Micky Diamond took a heat win each over the course of the event. However, in the final McAllister showed why he carries the number one plate with a dominant victory over Diamond and third-place finisher Steve Drew. Dustin Hoffman (Second in heat two) charged from 25th to fifth, taking the fastest Gage McAllister starts the 2015 AMA Pro Supermoto Championship off right with the first win of the season. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARYLEX PHOTOGRAPHY continued on page 28