Pedrosa says he could have won Sachsenring showdown

Pedrosa: ‘I couldn’t ride at the maximum’

Sunday, 19 July 2009

Front tyre problem blamed for Spaniard’s not being able to take victory.

Dani Pedrosa took a praiseworthy podium at the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland on Sunday afternoon, following up his Laguna Seca victory with third place in the German race.

The Spaniard made one of the flying starts that have become his trademark with the Repsol Honda RC212V, having started from a lowly eighth on the grid. He was unable to take off out in front as he had done before crashing in 2008, but says that a race win was still a possibility.

“A podium is good, but I think that we could have won. We were strong enough to win, but I had a front tyre problem when I was going fast,” said the Spaniard on the same difficulty that forced Andrea Dovizioso out of the race.

“My teammate seemed to have a big problem with it, so I’m happy to have got on the podium, but anyway I thought that today we could have been faster.”

Pedrosa raced with a new Honda engine this weekend as the Japanese factory look to beef up their 2009 machine, and Sunday saw his most extensive run yet with the new motor. Reviewing his feeling with the latest novelty, he added that “we have some experience now for the next round with the new spec.”

Pedrosa is currently fourth in the overall classification, 68 points behind leader Valentino Rossi.