Two days after being discharged from hospital following a fractured collarbone, Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa has earmarked a date for his possible comeback.
'There is a small possibility of going to Malaysia...' Dani
Pedrosa left hospital on Monday and continues to make excellent progress from the fracture to his left collarbone that he suffered the previous Friday during practice for the Japanese MotoGP and expects to be back on his bike in time for the Australian Grand Prix in 15 days’ time.
The rider is also not ruling out the possibility of travelling to Malaysia this weekend, although a return that quickly seems unlikely.
“I am still very stiff in my neck and across the back of my shoulders, so the target is to get back to racing in Australia. There is a very small possibility of going to Malaysia, but the realistic target is Australia. I had another check-up and it shows clearly that the plate on my collarbone is very well fixed and the progress has been good after the operation.
“My condition has improved over the last two days and I’m doing passive rehabilitation with my physiotherapist at the moment. I am still not able to move the arm by myself but with massage it’s getting better. It’s a real pity that this happened when we had such a lot of momentum with our results, but we simply have to deal with it."
The injury has all but ended his hopes of catching championship leader Jorge Lorenzo. Should Pedrosa not compete in Malaysia then Lorenzo will need only an eighth-placed finish at the Sepang circuit to secure the 2010 title.
Pedrosa’s setback was particularly untimely as, after an inconsistent start to the season, the Spaniard had clocked up two firsts and one second place in his previous three races.
At least Andrea Dovizioso stepped up in his team-mate’s absence at the Japanese MotoGP. The Italian, who started from pole, came home in second at Motegi.
The result was enough to see Dovizioso overtake fourth-placed Valentino Rossi in the overall standings so he will travel to Asia in good heart.
“I’m really looking forward to the Malaysian Grand Prix," Dovizioso said. "We arrive in a strong condition after not only an important podium finish in Motegi last Sunday, but also an entire race weekend where we were fast and consistent during every session. We made some good progress with the electronics and the machine set-up through the weekend, and so we arrive in Sepang in even better shape than Motegi.
“Our performance last weekend was the result of hard work – it was not by chance – and in Malaysia we can do even better. I really like the Sepang race track – it’s one of my favourites and I have had good results in all GP classes, including my first MotoGP podium in 2008. I like Sepang because it is a ‘complete’ circuit with a nice combination of fast and slow sections, and also the circuit is wide so you can use different lines. I’m very confident we can have another strong weekend."
For more on this weekend's race visit our dedicated event page
Comments
Add a comment