Pedrosa receives clearance for Catalonia

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa has confirmed his presence at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, less than two weeks after suffering a minor fracture to his right femur. The Spaniard undertook a final check-up at Barcelona’s Dexeus facility on Tuesday, with Doctors Xavier Mir and Manel Ribas giving him the all-clear to ride.

The participation of the 2008 racewinner was never in serious doubt, based on his past record of riding around injuries, the closeness of the title chase in front of him and the fact that the weekend’s race is one of his best chances of taking a first victory of the season. In a statement, Pedrosa also listed the desire to ride in front of his home fans as a key motivational factor.

“I didn’t want to miss this important date for anything in the world,” he said. “On the one hand I wanted to ride because missing this race would mean losing too much ground in the standings, and also because I wanted to race in front of my fans, friends and family.”

Pedrosa has been resting up following his Mugello ordeal, with his right leg immobilised and a cocktail of anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants to ease the pain.