Pedrosa happy to be back on podium

Dani Pedrosa rode to a solid second place at the Cardion ab Grand Prix Czech Republic on Sunday from pole position, and while stating that the result was not the one he had hoped for he was pleased to be back on the podium.

The Repsol Honda rider produced a good response to his DNF at Laguna Seca in the previous round as he made a trademark rapid start from pole, and he duelled with race winner Jorge Lorenzo for the early part of the race, eventually finishing just over five seconds behind his rival.

“It’s good to be back on the podium after the crash at the last race at Laguna Seca so I’m happy about this,” said the 24 year-old after the race. “My start was good and I was in first place through the first corner but in the first left-hander I was a little bit too concerned about my tyre temperature and braked too early, which allowed Ben and Jorge to get past. When I was in second place behind Jorge again I was trying as hard as possible to stay close, which I could do for a few laps, but for some reason I wasn’t quite able to go as fast as yesterday and though I tried to adjust my riding to improve this Jorge was gradually able to open the gap.”

Maintaining second position in the Championship with the result Pedrosa is aiming to go one better at Indianapolis as he seeks to cut Lorenzo’s 77-point lead in the standings.

“Today wasn’t the best result for us, but still the podium is okay and we can build on this result. After the test tomorrow we go to Indianapolis and I was strong there last year - despite the mistake in the race - so I’m confident we can be competitive again at the next race,” he concluded.