Former MotoGP star Casey Stoner injured in Suzuka 8 Hours crash

The former MotoGP star was in the early stages of his first stint of the race in the second hour when his Honda's throttle stuck open on the approach to the hairpin.

Stoner went off through the right-hand kink ahead of the hairpin, crashing heavily through the grass and coming to a stop while his bike slid back onto the track.

"I'm really disappointed that the race has ended like this," said Stoner.

"We really felt the race was going as planned, we were very relaxed and comfortable.

"I didn't have enough time to engage the clutch [when the throttle stuck].

"I picked the bike up to try to slow down but I was heading towards the wall so I decided to lay it over and hit the barrier.

"Unfortunately the barriers were a lot harder then they looked and we came out of it with broken bones.

"Sorry to my team, they have worked too hard for it to end like that. I had a lot of fun hanging out with those guys.

"Not the way we wanted the day to go, but at least I have plenty of time to heal."

A Honda statement added: "The team checked the machine, and confirmed from the data the throttle was 26 degrees open before the crash.

"It wasn't clear why this happened and now the bike will be sent to HRC for a full inspection."

The race was won by the factory Yamaha entry featuring MotoGP riders Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, joined by Katsuyuki Nakasuga.