Casey Stoner is set to remain part of the Honda Racing Corporation’s MotoGP test team next year.
The two-time MotoGP World Champion enjoyed several outings with his former full-time team in the second half of 2013.
Although Stoner will be stepping away from his Dunlop Series commitments in Australia to spend more time with his young family, HRC has confirmed that Stoner’s testing will continue.
HRC boss Shuhei Nakamoto told Motorcycle News that final plans for Stoner’s involvement have yet to be sorted, but it is unlikely that he will take part in the team’s Phillip Island test in March.
The factory Honda, Yamaha and Ducati MotoGP squads are all expected to attend the March test following the tyre problems that occurred on the resurfaced Australian circuit during the Grand Prix weekend in October.
“Casey won’t be at the Phillip Island test,” Nakamoto told MCN.
“Our two factory riders will go to Phillip Island. Bridgestone will make tyres but not so many, so if we brought three riders Bridgestone would struggle to supply tyres.
“Bridgestone are still unsure which type of tyre they should make for Phillip Island and this is the purpose of the test and they will bring several different constructions and compounds.”
In other MotoGP news, recent tweaks to the 2014 MotoGP calendar ensure that the Australian Grand Prix no longer clashes with V8 Supercars’ Armor All Gold Coast 600.
The Phillip Island race is now a week earlier on October 17-19, splitting the two other late-season fly-away races in Japan and Malaysia.