Casey Stoner confessed that he considered pulling out of the Malaysian Grand Prix due to a soaked track heightening the risk to his injury.
Having made the decision to start however Stoner felt his pace, particularly in the heavy rain of the final laps, was strong enough for victory to be realistic.
As it was he was deprived of the chance to find out, the race being halted just as he closed onto the tail of Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo in second.
“To be honest I highly considered not doing the race today at all,” Stoner said.
“With my foot injury it’s easier to crash, and I’m not 100 per cent so if I tweak it that’s it, there’s no way I can race again.
“I’ve been trying to avoid all the wet sessions, as dry riding is the best chance for me.
“At the start of the race I had no confidence – I haven’t ridden in the wet for a long time – so I just tried to keep ahead of people, brake [and get] clean exits.
“Lap by lap I had more confidence to go harder, and heavy rain is my playground, I can normally find higher pace than everyone else.
“To be honest if the race went through to full distance I good chance of winning.
“It worked out the way it did, but it’s nice to feel at least slightly competitive today.”
Stoner’s next race will be his final home grand prix at Phillip Island, an event he has won for the past five consecutive seasons.
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/motorcycles/motogp/stoner-was-tempted-to-withdraw
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