Pedrosa pace restricted by injuries in early session

Friday, 18 July 2008

In the opening free practice session of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix weekend Repsol Honda´s Dani Pedrosa was off the pace and riding in significant discomfort at Laguna Seca.

MotoGP title contender Dani Pedrosa is riding in pain in California due to his hand and ankle injuries, ending the opening free practice run at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix last on the list of nineteen participants on the timesheet - 3.396s off Casey Stoner´s pace.

The Repsol Honda rider is desperate to compete at this weekend´s GP as he seeks to maintain his championship challenge, having surrendered the lead in the standings last weekend following the crash in which his fractured left wrist and index finger and sprained right ankle were sustained.

On Friday morning he tested his fitness in FP1, completing 21 laps of the Laguna Seca track, but ending the session in severe discomfort.

Repsol Honda Team Manager Kazuhiko Yamano stated, `Dani has a lot of pain but we know he has great fighting spirit. He has a 50% chance of riding this afternoon, so we will know more later.´