Honda home race awaits Pedrosa

Repsol Honda´s Dani Pedrosa will be upholding Honda´s honour at Motegi next weekend, and his wet weather work at Indianpolis could stand him in good stead in Japan. The Spaniard may be getting used to the pneumatic valve engine and Bridgestone tyres package debuted at Indianapolis, but he is feeling assured ahead of round fifteen.

`Indianapolis was an important weekend for us, with lots of work and with all kinds of different weather. That made it quite tough, but it did give us experience in different conditions, so we could learn about my new machine and tyres in both dry and wet conditions,´ says Pedrosa, who finished eighth in his first American participation of the year.

` I hope that we can use the data we gathered there to help us achieve a good result at Honda´s home race. I am feeling quite confident for the Japanese round. Motegi is one of those tracks that I like because the surface has good grip and not so many bumps.

Pedrosa is currently on a five-race run without placing on the podium –his longest since his first rostrum back in 2001. Previous form perhaps does not bode well for him, with collisions for the 22 year-old on both MotoGP visits to Twin Ring Motegi; in 2006 he bashed fairings with Colin Edwards on the second corner (he eventually finished seventh) and last year he suffered one of the most spectacular highsides of the season as the track turned wet. However, pole position last year indicates that Pedrosa has the speed to do well in Japan, and he may be aided by his trust in Bridgestone rubber.

`It is important to have good braking power and good acceleration from your machine, which means that the tyres are very important because you need to be able to brake late into the corners and accelerate strongly out of the corners,´ notes the 2007 World Championship runner-up.

`My favourite section of the track is the middle bit, climbing the hill towards the highest point. To achieve a fast lap you need to get your braking points absolutely correct, and the final section is probably most important for a good lap time. It's the kind of circuit where you need to use an aggressive riding style.´

Pedrosa has previously won at Motegi for Honda in 2002 and 2004, during his time in the 125cc and 250cc classes.