Casey Stoner’s bold bid for a podium finish in the US Grand Prix came to a dramatic end when he crashed on lap 15 of today’s 32 lap race at Laguna Seca. After starting seventh, Stoner was in third position ahead of both Dani Pedrosa and Kenny Roberts Jr, after passing both riders four laps earlier. Stoner was uninjured when a front-end slide put him out of the race at turn five while running similar lap times to eventual race winner Nicky Hayden, with Pedrosa finishing second. After a whirlwind 11 race schedule Stoner remains in sixth place in the championship standings on 91 points.

“It is a difficult moment for both Casey and the team. We all believe we deserve better results, there is a very big potential for Casey and the team. Casey did a perfect warm-up and a perfect start but just made a small mistake while racing in third position. Both Casey and the team
have a strong spirit and I believe we will come back at the next race even stronger, and challenge for the podium result we deserve.”

“Everything felt fine and I had a race set-up good enough to be running up front. I just made a small mistake and as I let the brake off for turn 5 the front just slid away. I knew I had to conserve the tyres early in the race but once I got in front of Dani and Kenny it was no problem, I just concentrated on running a strong pace and not going to hard. I really want to say a big thank you to everyone in the LCR team who have worked so hard all season to keep us running up front. I’m the one who has not delivered on my side.”