“Especially tough” win delights Pedrosa

Dani Pedrosa passed a personal milestone at Indianapolis on Sunday as he won a MotoGP race for the third time in one season, and the Repsol Honda rider did so in extremely taxing conditions.

With the temperature hitting a draining 35ºC (56ºC track surface) it was a tough 28-lap contest for all involved and Pedrosa, who started from fifth on the grid, made up ground quickly as he tracked down pole man Ben Spies.

“I’m really happy with this win and it was an especially tough one because of the heat today. I didn’t make the perfect start but I was quite quick through the first few tight corners and stayed close to the leaders. My rhythm was good today and even though Spies was strong in front I was able to close him down and make the pass,” explained Pedrosa, who took the lead from the American on the seventh lap and did not look back.

“I’m really pleased with the performance of my bike because it was fast on the straights and also was working well in the corners. When I was out in front it was quite hard to stay focused and at the end of the race I was really tired - but I’m very happy because last year I crashed when I could have won and now I have made up for it.”

Commenting on his third win of 2010, Pedrosa added: “I’ve gone past the barrier of two MotoGP race wins in a season so I’m very happy. We are doing a good job and I hope we can maintain this momentum next weekend at Misano. I want to thank the team and all the people around me for this win."

Victory for Pedrosa cut the gap to Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo to 68 points with seven rounds of the season remaining.