MOTOGP: Tired Of Retirement? Stoner To Test Honda

Retired two-time MotoGP champ Casey Stoner is set to test Honda's 2013 and 2014 RC213Vs, fueling speculation of a racing return.

Casey Stoner will become the world's fastest test rider when he makes a dramatic return to MotoGP in a series of private test sessions with Honda. Stoner, 27, will end his nine-month retirement from MotoGP at the Motegi circuit in Japan next week with a two-day test aboard Honda's world championship winning RC213V. He will rejoin the Honda team in Japan on August 6 and 7. Honda will confirm Stoner's test plans in an official HRC press release on Tuesday, 23 July (European time). Stoner will also ride a prototype of their 2014 model being readied for next season in a clear effort to strengthen their championship campaign. Riding motorcycles fast is Stoner's life long passion and he admits he has missed the thrill of two wheels since his shock decision to retire last November. He switched to the second tier V8 Supercars series this year but has now agreed to a deal that will see him complete four Honda test sessions before the end of the season. The return to bikes has fuelled speculation that Stoner is set make wild card race appearances this season but Honda have denied this. The two races at the center of the rumors are the Australian and Japanese Grands Prix in October. Stoner says he is "still happy" with his decision to stop full time bike racing. "But there are times when I miss riding my RC213V so I am really happy that Honda have asked me to do some testing in Motegi this year," Stoner said. "It will allow to enjoy what I miss, which is riding a MotoGP bike." A spokesman for the Honda Racing Corporation said that wild card appearances are not part of the plan. "There have been rumors of a wild card races for Casey but this is out of the question," said HRC Team Principal Livio Suppo. But Stoner's return to a full scale test program with Honda, which could be as many as eight days across four appearances, is more than riding just for fun. Crucially, Honda want Stoner's assessment of their RC213V, which is locked in a tense struggle with Yamaha for this year's world championship.