MotoGP news

Pedrosa struggles in qualifying

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will commence the second part of the 2008 MotoGP season in tomorrow's Czech Grand Prix from the fourth row of the grid.

The Spaniard was 12th quickest in this afternoon's qualifying session, run on a rain-soaked racetrack. This morning's practice session was also run in the wet, though the rain was heavier this afternoon and intensified as the session went on, the track waterlogged in several places by the time the chequered flag came out. Like most riders, Pedrosa rode his fastest lap in the earlier stages when there was less surface water.

Pedrosa, still suffering from the broken left wrist and index finger he sustained at last month's German GP, was cautious in the treacherous conditions, determined not to risk a fall that might exacerbate his injuries. His team-mate Nicky Hayden is missing this race due to a foot injury sustained during an X Games Supermoto event in Los Angeles two weeks ago. 

"I wore a heavier strapping on my left hand today, for better support, but anyway the cold weather gave me more pain," said Pedrosa. "The track was very wet this afternoon. I tried to improve my lap time, even though the rain got heavier, but I couldn't improve, so I will start the race from the fourth row. Of course, I'm not happy about starting from there, because it won't help us in the race. If the race is run in the dry I hope we will have a dry warm-up so that we can work on our suspension set-up and tyre choice. If it is dry in the morning we will work hard to make improvements so we can have the best-possible race."

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