Pedrosa: ‘One of my most important races’

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa is gunning for first place at Phillip Island this weekend, as he attempts to hold off the challenge of Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner during the season finale.

Pedrosa currently sits in third in the overall season standings in MotoGP’s premier class, and the Spaniard’s goal is to cement that position while claiming one more race victory in the final three outings of the campaign.

With Stoner his nearest rival – the Australian sits three points behind him – Pedrosa knows that a podium finish could be essential to realise his aim, with consecutive third places at Misano and Estoril setting him up for his Australian challenge.

“I'm really looking forward to racing in Australia again,” said Pedrosa. “It feels like one of the most important races of the season for me and I'm very motivated to do my best there, get a good result and hopefully challenge for the win.”

Pedrosa, who won the 250cc race in 2005 but recorded a disappointing DNF last year, continued, “I've had mixed experiences at Phillip Island but there have been some very good memories and those are the ones I’ll be focusing on going into this weekend. The objective for the remainder of the season is to keep third place in the championship and score at least one more victory, so if that can come in Australia, all the better.”

“The circuit is great to ride and the atmosphere is also unique and special. The track itself is a little bit bumpy in a few places and that combined with the really fast curves makes set-up very important because you need to be able to ride aggressively here to go quickly. I’ve had podium finishes in the last two races at Misano and Estoril and this weekend we’ll be looking for that little bit extra to give us a chance of winning. The weather can be unstable in Phillip Island, but it’ll be good to get out on track on Friday.”