PEDROSA FLIES HOME

By Michael Esdaile
Photos :Peter Geran

REPSOL Honda's Dani Pedrosa decided against racing in the Iveco Australian MotoGP on Sunday after the end of the official qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.

Pedrosa explained that although he could ride his V4 Honda, he did not feel confident in being able to have full control over race distance, especially in windy conditions. He said he was having great difficulty countering the strong side-winds at Phillip Island.

He said that while he did not have any great pain in his left shoulder, he lacked his usual level of strength and decided it was wiser to sit out the race and rest it rather than risk further injury to it, "or worse."

Pedrosa revealed that while his left arm could be manipulated in a range of motions, he was having a lot of difficulty doing that himself.

When he crashed at the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, he went down hard on his left shoulder and as well as the four fractures to his clavicle, he had significant soft tissue damage, not to mention a lot of swelling.

The collarbone was screwed and plated in Spain and that part of the injury seems to be perfectly fine. It is the other damage that hampered his progress at Phillip Island.

Asked if he thought it had been unwise to try to return to racing so soon, Pedrosa said "no, I had to try to find my level."

Now he has, he realises he needs to rest the shoulder a little longer before trying again in the final two races left in the 2010 season.

He indicated there were further upgrades to his Repsol Honda to try, but in the condition he was currently in, he had postponed trying those at Phillip Island. However, he said he was very happy with the way the team had worked hard to improve the Honda over the course of the season and was looking forward to testing the 2011 version.