Honda has apologised to Casey Stoner after discovering a malfunctioning throttle was behind his crash in Sunday’s Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race.

The former MotoGP world champion broke his right shoulder blade and fractured his left ankle in the spectacular accident at the prestigious Japanese event.

The 29-year-old was leading when he came off his Honda on a hairpin bend, ending hopes of a win for his team MuSASHI RT HARC-PRO.

It was Stoner’s first competitive two-wheel race since his retirement in 2012.

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) said on Wednesday that, following a detailed analysis, it discovered a malfunction relating to the throttle cable.

“This kind of problem hasn’t arisen before, however, HRC will cease using this throttle specification and will design a new one to be used for endurance races,” it said.

“HRC would like to apologise to Casey Stoner and thank him for the effort he made in attending the Suzuka 8-Hour event.”