Honda's Dani Pedrosa has admitted defeat in his battle to be fit in time for the MotoGP of Catalunya this weekend as he continues to recover from surgery on his collarbone.
Pedrosa was involved in a controversial incident in the GP of France on May 15 that saw Marco Simoncelli’s Gresini Honda collide with the 25-year-old Spaniard’s works machine, with Pedrosa crashing heavily and breaking the bone.
Pedrosa suffered a similar injury last season, which ended his hopes of challenging compatriot Jorge Lorenzo for the 2010 world championship. The plate used to repair that damage had caused Pedrosa some numbness in 2011’s opening race in Qatar, but after surgery to remove the offending item, he promptly won in Portugal before disaster struck in the next GP at Le Mans.
'I think I need to take a break to completely recover'
“After France, I had an operation to stabilise the broken collarbone and try to compete [at the Catalunya GP] in Barcelona,” said Pedrosa in a statement. “I pushed as much as I could, but I feel that my collarbone is not ready. I think I need to take a break to completely recover.
“I would love to go to Montmeló to be with all the fans that follow me, but I think if I'm on track, it’s better to be able to try to win and deliver a great result. I don’t feel that this is possible right now, and therefore it makes more sense not to compete.
“It is a great pity that this has happened, because despite all the problems I had at the beginning of the season, this year I felt strongly that I knew I could overcome my opponents.
“I want to say thanks to you all for your support, and that I hope to be back soon in full health to continue giving my best.”
Simoncelli, who received a ride-through penalty for what the Le Mans stewards had considered a reckless manoeuvre that caused the crash, has admitted he was at fault as he arrives in Pedrosa’s heartland for this weekend’s MotoGP action.
“On reflection, I have realised where I have gone wrong and in the future I will try at certain times to evaluate the situation better and be a little more cautious,” Simoncelli commented. “I know that I'm probably not going to get a standing ovation at Barcelona…”
Want more?
- Dani Pedrosa profile page
- Check out the official MotoGP site
- Motorcyclenews.com
- MotoGP Catalunya event page
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