IN
THE
WIND
P30
STONER'S RETURN
ENDS IN DISASTER
F
ormer two-time MotoGP
World Champion Casey
Stoner's return to competi-
tion lasted only five laps of his
first stint in the Suzuka 8 Hour
following a massive crash that
left him with a broken his right
scapula (shoulder blade) and
fractured left ankle.
The Australian had just taken
control of the number 634
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO Hon-
da CBR1000RR and scythed
his way to the front of the field,
when on his fifth lap entering
the hairpin at the back of the
track, the throttle stuck open
going through the proceeding
fourth gear right hander. HRC
later commented that the throttle
was stuck open 26 degrees and
Stoner can clearly be seen pull-
ing in the clutch
in an attempt to
slow the machine
down before he
hit the barrier.
The Australian
lowsided the ma-
chine, which then
cartwheeled itself
to destruction as
he rolled through
the gravel trap.
"We really felt that the race
and everything had gone as we
planned so far, we were very
relaxed and comfortable and mak-
ing sure we saved the tires and
the fuel to stretch the stint as long
as we could," Stoner said. "Un-
fortunately, we experienced some
mechanical trouble as I was going
through the corner leading up to
the hairpin. I did not have enough
time to engage the clutch and I
came in with too much speed, I
picked the bike up to try to slow
down more but I was heading
towards the wall so I decided
to lay it over and hit the barrier,
but unfortunately they were a lot
harder than they looked."
The crash saw any chances
of a third straight victory for the
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO team
go up in flames, with the win
going to Yamaha Factory Racing
for the first time since 1996.
Check out Stoner's massive
get-off here: https://www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=s51TBrRkLi0
Rennie Scaysbrook
FUNDING FOR RECREATIONAL
TRAILS ON CHOPPING BLOCK!
T
he BRC (Blue Ribbon Coali-
tion) issued an action alert
urging off-road enthusiasts to
support the Recreational Trials
Program. An amendment to HR
22—a transportation bill called
the DRIVE Act—by U.S. Senator
Mike Lee (R-UT) would essen-
tially end all funding for the Rec-
reational Trails Program (RTP).
The amendment would eliminate
the Transportation Alternatives
Program, from which the RTP
derives its funds.
The RTP is an important
funding source for the manage-
ment of both motorized and
non-motorized trail opportunities
throughout the country," Don
Amador of the BRC stated in a
release. "As many of you know,
BRC and many others worked
hard in the early 1990s for the
creation by Congress of the
Recreational Trails Program. Trail
users need to champion RTP!"
The BRC has teamed up
with the AMA to issue a "Code
Red partner alert." The Sen-
ate is gearing up to vote on the
bill (possibly this week), and
off-roaders are urged to visit
the AMA Alert page (using the
template at the link provided)
to petition Congress to oppose
Amendment number 2280, and
continue its support for recre-
ational trails.
Jean Turner
Casey Stoner's Suzuka 8 hour debut did not go as planned.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
