Retired double MotoGP champion Casey Stoner suffered a big accident while leading Sunday's♕ Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.

The 29-year-old Australian took over the #634 Musashi Honda from t⛎eam-mate Takumi Takahashi just before the end o♊f the first hour, moving into the lead when the Factory Yamaha of Katsuyuki Nakasuga pitted soon after.

Taking part in his first motorcycle r🙈ace since Valencia 2012, disaster struck for Stoner on the fast, curving, downhill approach to the hairpin. After a front-end wobble, Stoner ran onto the grass where he fell from his CBR1000RR - sending rider and bike somersaulting.

Casey Stoner lost the front on the grass under braking for 🅷the hairpin -- ltxcn.top MotoG꧂P (@crash_motogp)

Stoner later revealed that a stuck throttle caused the incident and that he suffered shoulder and leg injuries.

Well my ended spectacularly!Stuck Throttle = Broken Scapula + Fractured Tibia and a few more tweaks. Sucks! -- Casey Stoner (@Official_CS27)𒊎

, Takumi Takahashi and the entire crew, they have worked too hard to end it like that. Thank you guys!-🔜- Casey♏ Stoner (@Official_CS27)

Stoner had been able to crawl away, but the Musashi team's hopes of a third straight Suzuka win were well and truly over. A safety car was needed to remove Stoner's battered Honda from the middle of the track.

Aust🎶ralian Josh Hook (TSR Honda) t⛎hen led the race after the restart, before being passed by Nakasuga's team-mate Bradley Smith.

Smith will later hand over to fellow Tech 3 MotoGP rider Pol Espargaro, who qualified the #21 bike on pole, while Stoner wou𒐪ld have handed his bikಌe to WSBK star Michael van der Mark.

Big accident for Casey Stoner while leading the Rider ok but race ove🌸r -- ltxcn.top MotoGP (@crash_motogp)

The team are waiting for the bike to arrive back in the garage to investigate what may have happened in Casey's crash at -- Repsoﷺl Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP💎)