Pedrosa apologises to team for Indy crash

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa had looked to be in superb shape at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix as he dominated proceedings in the wet and dry on Friday and Saturday, but there was heartbreak on Sunday as his crashed on the fourth lap when leading the race.

In the absence of Casey Stoner and with Valentino Rossi ultimately suffering his first DNF since 2007, this was truly a missed opportunity for the Spanish competitor.

Nonetheless, Pedrosa tried to remain calm and positive when he looked back on the race, apologising to his team after he bravely battled back to tenth place from last position following his crash.

“This result was a real shame, but sometimes it happens,” he stated. “We did a great job all through practice and qualifying, I was confident for the race and of course I was hoping to win today. I was pushing very hard at the start of the race and perhaps I pushed too much. There was some cloud cover today and maybe the front tyre was a little cooler than before, but whatever the reason, I made a mistake and lost the front. I’m sorry for the team because they’ve worked really hard for me, and also to the fans who’ve given me great support.”

Continuing his explanation, Pedrosa went on to say, “I wanted to win in American again but it wasn’t to be. There was some damage to the bike - the handlebar was bent inwards and the footpeg was worn away quite badly, but actually I was able to recover and ride at a fast pace to take some points at the end. Looking on the positive side, we’ve been very fast here and that means we can take a lot of confidence to Misano next weekend.”