Dani Pedrosa was on track as a favourite for this year's MotoGP World Championship before his French Grand Prix crash at Le Mans. The broken right collarbone he sustained was quickly operated on but he still did not ride for six weeks, making his comeback at the Italian GP in Mugello.
“I pushed myself a little too much to come back strong in Barcelona but it didn't come out right,” explained the 36 time Grand Prix winner. “I wanted to race when I was ready but during my recovery, when I was doing the rehabilitation exercises I realises that something had happened, something had moved in the shoulder and so I needed another operation.”
Obviously it was not the way he wanted the year to go. “I am late and I come back after three races and not 100%'” he explained after missing the races in Barcelona, Silverstone and Assen. The fact that he only finished eighth in his comeback ride at the Italian GP was proof that he is not 100% fit yet.
“Getting back on the bike in Mugello there was some pain basically because it is the arm that is the problem. If it was the legs, then not so bad, you use the legs on the bike but not as much as the arms. It is my right arm so you are using that for the brake and the throttle. On the brake I really had less power to stop the bike and control the bike under braking. I felt I needed another week to train and get myself right.”
Talking at the Sachsenring during the German Grand Prix, the 25-year-old Spaniard, who had won the Portuguese round at Estoril prior to being knocked off in France is clearly looking ahead to more success this year. “The goal is to come back as soon as possible to good fitness. To start to be able to win races before the season is over.”
“In the past I've been pretty fast in Sachsenring, Laguna, Brno, most of the rest of the tracks this year I think I am pretty fast so I think I have a pretty good chance, Sunday is Sunday, when it comes to the race you never know and you race against some good riders but the chances are there. If I am fit I can try.”
GEPA PIctures/Gold & Goose
Doubly frustrating is the fact that the Honda seems like the world championship-winning machine. “The Honda is going very well this year over almost all the racetracks. At every round we have some issues with some things but basically overall the bike is performing well.”
One of the keys to the success is the much talked about gearbox. “It is very good for when you are accelerating leaned over on the edge of the tyre, the bike is not moving so much. Before the gearbox was very rough and the bike was always moving and spinning from the gear-change. Now the gearbox is very smooth. Both in the dry and the wet you can feel that you can keep the throttle open and the bike does not move so much.”
“Compared to previous years we gained on this point with the gearbox and we improved the exit of the corners, we got better traction and we are trying a new swing-arm, trying to get some mechanical grip, more than using traction control. Because still on the entry to the corners we are one or two steps behind our competition. That's on the brakes and turning in.”
So who does he see as the main opposition for the rest of the year – team-mates Stoner and Dovizioso or reigning champion Lorenzo? “All of them, even Simoncelli is very strong sometimes, Ben Spies, they are all good. I think that in this class when you get to a certain point anyone can beat you in some fight. Of course at the very very top maybe it is Stoner and Lorenzo but in the second step there are these other riders that make the races more difficult.”
'I just want to move forward and do some good races'
As Stoner is leading the points table going into the second half of the season is he concerned that he may have to take a supporting role? “I hope it is individual. I think that already he has some good potential to win the title individually. I don't like to be in that position,” added the ex 125 and 250cc World Champion.
So what about Marco Simoncelli and the Le mans incident? “Of course it is not easy to forget what happened because I lost the championship, this year was a good chance. But I said what I have to say about this and I don't want to say anymore. I just want to move forward and do some good races.”
His championship chances have been very significantly reduced so does that not focus his thoughts on next year? “I am still thinking about this season, to try to get back to good condition, try to get some poles and win races. To get recover some points and not to end up 7th in the standings. Of course I am looking forward to the Brno test after the GP and testing the 1000 because I missed it in Jerez. But really thinking of this championship.”
Will the 1000cc MotoGP bike be more exciting? “I think probably yes, I am very interested to try it. I think that the 1000 has a lot more torque and I think that with this bike it will be very hard to find the perfect setting for the weekend. I think that with the 800 the one that finds the perfect setting is the one that wins the race. I think that the 1000 will open thing up a little more to rider ability.”
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