Casey Stoner Speaks About Sepang Injury

Defending champion Casey Stoner shed some light on his back injury and why he had to leave the test in Sepang on the first day of testing.

The Australian rider hurt his back while stretching between runs at the track in Malaysia, where all MotoGP riders are testing their new 1000cc bikes ahead of the 2012 season opener. Stoner, however, was forced to leave due to his back locking up.

The motorsports rider said he aggravated the injury while stretching between runs, and needed a trainer to help him get back to a normal position when it locked up. Repsol Honda is still optimistic that Stoner will be back out on the bike before the end of the test,

"I felt I could have gone out on the bike in the afternoon, but we all agreed it would probably make it worse for tomorrow," said Stoner. "We have two more days testing here in Sepang, we know the track well and we are getting to know the bike - we just need some time to test the new parts we have here to give feedback to HRC. I think tomorrow the track conditions will be better and as long as my back improves overnight we should get back on schedule with our testing program tomorrow."