Stoner explains last lap crash

"I had planned to go for my 'win or bin' effort in the last corner, not that one!" - Casey Stoner.
Stoner crash, German MotoGP 2012
Stoner crash, German MotoGP 2012
© Gold and Goose

MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner fe🃏ll while fighting with Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa for victory at the penultimate turn of Sunday's German Grand Prix.

The factory RCV riders had been 💦in a class of their own throughout the race, exchanging the lead several times, with Pedrosa ahead for the final eleven laps.

However title leader S✃toner remained in his wheeltracks throughout and was planning to try and snatch his fourth victory of the season at the final turn.

But he never made it that far.

As theജ Australian pushed a little harder into the penultimate left hander at the base of the hill, his front wheel folded and he slid off at high speed.

"I'm pr🏅etty disappointed, I had planned to go for ꧑my 'win or bin' effort in the last corner, not that one!" said Stoner with a wry smile.

"I was comfortabl💟e for the whole race🐟 and felt we had a few tenths a lap over Dani.

✤"Then on the final lap I made a small mistake going into the first turn and knew I couldn't pass at the bottom ♔of the hill [where he went on to crash].

"I basically just wanted to turn the bike underneath and get a good run going into ꦺthe final turn, where I was confident I could make the pass.

"But as soon as I went to turn the bike in a little bit harder, the front just went away from me and 🐬it was 'game over'."

Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo was 15 seconds behind the Repsol riders at th🦹at point and Stoner slamm🔜ed the trackside marshals for not helping him rejoin.

"[The fall is] disappointing for sureᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ, but for me the most disappointing thing about it was the marshals," he said.

"I've seen them pick up loads of different riders and get going and there was nothing wrong with my bike, but there was no way they were going𒐪 to help me.

"Yet again, German marshals have keptꦬ me from getting a decent resu🐭lt."

Ston⛎er has now dropped from joint equal with Lorenzo for the title lead to 20-points down in third.

The DNF also marked Stoneꦆr's first non-finish since he was taken 🗹down by Valentino Rossi at the 2011 Spanish MotoGP.

"W🐻e didn't deserve to take so many points back [from Lorenzo] at Assen, but then the same thing happened to me𝕴 at Jerez last year," said Stoner.

"We just have to keep going forward. Myself and Dani showed we hadཧ a huge pace advantage here. Dani's always been fast here and we💙 managed to... to be honest I was confident I had the edge over him today.

"I just m💜ade a slight mistake and got caught out."

Round eig🔯ht of 18 takes place꧅ at Mugello in Italy next weekend.

"Fast corners, high speeds and a lot of wheelspin. That's what I enjoy about Mugello," said Stone𝄹r. "It's not a small dinky track.

"This track, this afternoon, I wouldn't have been on fu𒉰ll throttle for more than a second at any one time due to the grip levels.

"It's frustr🦄ating♔ to ride round at 20-30% throttle. It's nice to open it up."

Stoner finished third at Mugello last year, behi♉🌜nd Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso.

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