KUALA LUMPUR: Reigning MotoGP champion Casey Stoner, who finished third in the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, revealed on Monday that he had considered not racing on the wet Sepang circuit on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Australian rider, recovering from an ankle injury, was concerned over fresh injuries if he suffered a spill on the wet track as pouring rain made visibility poor.

"I was considering not racing as I was afraid to fall and injure my ankle again - the result of which could be catastrophic, so I was cautious in the first few laps until I found my rhythm," he said in a posting on his blog while en route to Australia for this weekend's race at Phillip Island.

The 2007 and 2011 world champion crashed in qualifying for the Indianapolis MotoGP on August 19 but still raced there to finish fourth. Afterwards he underwent surgery on torn ligaments and fractures to his ankle, tibia and fibula.

Stoner is lying third in the world MotoGP championship standings but is out of the race for the world title which is being fought between his Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha ace Jorge Lorenzo.

Spain's Lorenzo, on 330 points, has a 23-point lead over his fellow countryman Pedrosa.

Organisers put out the red flag on lap 13 of Sunday's 20-lap race, halting proceedings due to the torrential rain and giving Pedrosa his third successive victory. Lorenzo was in second place. - AFP

• Please wait.

• Nadal to meet Federer in Rome final, Serena rolls on
• Iron-man Cavendish claims fourth win at Giro
• Kevin smashes 400m freestyle national record to take gold
• Korda holds off charging Webb to seize the lead
• Rizzua set to be the next big thing to come from Sarawak
• Hafizh struggling with new Kalex bike in Le Mans
• Inconsistent and uncomfortable but Bradley still ahead of pack
• Training for young goalkeepers
• Indonesian coach: Individual sponsorship will revive our shuttlers’ fortunes
• Denmark’s Hoyer is new president of the BWF