Hiroshi Aoyama
After Repsol Honda Team completed the 2015 Qatar Grand Prix, Dani Pedrosa, Honda's 2015 MotoGP rider had to have surgery to treat the compartment syndrome (arm pump) in his right forearm. This would mean that Pedrosa would miss the next two consecutive races, the Austin and the Argentine. Stoner offered to fill in for Pedrosa for these two events. However, HRC Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto and Repsol Honda team manager Livio Suppo decided against using Stoner because they did not have a motorcycle specifically set up for Casey, they also said that Casey was unfamiliar with Circuit of the Americas and Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo and they wanted him to be as competitive as possible. Stoner was disappointed as he tweeted, "Sorry to everyone but I am not racing @circuitamericas next weekend it would have been an honour to ride for @26_DaniPedrosa #NotMeantToBe." And, "Bummer I'm not racing, no prep needed as I wasn't planning on winning, just replacing a good friend and having some fun in Texas!" Instead, Repsol Honda chose HRC test rider Hiroshi Aoyama to replace Dani Pedrosa.