MotoGP news

Pedrosa easing off medication

Dani Pedrosa's surprise performance of clinching sixth place was gratefully received by the Repsol Honda team in Barcelona. Now returning to the track on which he took his first victory, the Spaniard is hoping to compete minus the use of the pain killers which have been allowing him to take part in recent races.

Pedrosa finished runner-up to Casey Stoner at Assen last year

Victim of a number of particularly damaging accidents in 2008 and 2009, Dani Pedrosa has seemingly been out of luck this year and given no chance to fully recover as yet. Still battered and bruised from a series of falls which started in Qatar testing this year, the Catalan is looking forward to returning to Holland this weekend.

"Since the race in Barcelona I've basically been resting, trying to give my hip as much chance to improve as possible," the 23-year-old explained. "Obviously there hasn't been a lot of time - just over one week - but I certainly feel a lot better now than immediately after the last race when I was totally exhausted. I'm feeling positive about the weekend and we'll just have to see how it goes when riding starts on Thursday. My intention would be to ride without receiving any pain-killing injections because, gradually, they lose their effectiveness and they are not something I want to rely on - we'll see how the feeling is when I start to ride."

Pedrosa in Holland in 2008

Amazingly, Pedrosa remains in the top five of the championship and only two points behind team-mate Andrea Dovitzioso, despite his terrible luck. Dani is remaining positive for a good result, however, as he prepares for the only race of the season which takes place on a Saturday. "Assen is a track with good memories for me because I won my first Grand Prix there and I've had quite a few podiums there too," he said. "The recent changes, where they've shortened the circuit, have removed some of its character but it still requires a lot of commitment to ride it well."

The starting lights in the Netherlands will go out at 2pm local time on Saturday (BST+1 / GMT+2).

more news

• 07 Nov.
  • Rossi struggles at Valencia
  • Lorenzo enjoys 16th front row of the season
  • Stoner confident at Valencia
  • Unbeatable Stoner grabs pole position at Valencia
  • Photos: Saturday in Valencia
  • Stoner also fastest in second practice Valencia
• 06 Nov.
  • Gusts affecting bike performance, says Pedrosa
  • Photos: Friday in Valencia
  • Rossi: Quite a lot of work to do
  • Lorenzo searching for home victory
  • Stoner leads Friday practice in Valencia
• 05 Nov.
  • Suppo to leave Ducati
  • Valencia extends contract to 2016
• 04 Nov.
  • Spies reveals special Valencia livery
• 03 Nov.
  • Canepa to miss season final in Valencia
  • Rossi: Now we can enjoy ourselves
  • Pedrosa determined to finish on a high
• 27 Oct.
  • Ducati test rider to become Team Manager
• 25 Oct.
  • Lorenzo faced difficult race at Sepang
  • Photos: Sunday at Sepang
  • Title a great achievement says Rossi
  • Rossi claims 2009 championship as Stoner wins the race
• 24 Oct.
  • Photos: Saturday at Sepang
  • Stoner disappointed with fourth place
  • Motivated Pedrosa aims for race win at Sepang
  • Lorenzo unhappy with lack of pace
  • Rossi surprised with pole position record
  • Rossi dominates in qualifying with pole position record
  • Pedrosa leads second practice at Sepang
• 23 Oct.
  • Rossi: The race will be very hard
  • Lap times not worrying, says Pedrosa
  • Stoner in good shape at Sepang
  • Lorenzo in pain after Australia shunt
  • Photos: Friday at Sepang
  • Lorenzo leads opening Sepang practice
• 22 Oct.
  • Canepa to miss Malaysian Grand Prix
• 21 Oct.
  • Elías targeting 4-place rise
  • Pedrosa hoping to secure Sepang victory
  • Rossi hoping for more 'gold dust'
• 20 Oct.
  • Dovizioso: Sepang is my favourite track

Homepage