Pedrosa satisfied with first assessment of physical condition at Estoril

The Motorcycling World Championship resumed today its activity in Portugal after a 1-month break from the second race of the year. Four weeks that allowed Dani Pedrosa to undergo surgery on his shoulder and get back to the track with a great level, as he finished just 64 thousandths behind the fastest time of the day. Still with doubts about how his arm will respond during the weekend, the start of the Repsol rider was certainly positive.

In the first free practice session, Pedrosa had a good start and was soon among the fastest of the session. The Repsol rider did 19 laps and finished a little more than two tenths adrift Marco Simoncelli, who today dominated both sessions, and just 18 thousandths behind Casey Stoner, who was second, with Andrea Dovizioso sixth.
In the second practice session, Pedrosa was again very competitive and, after another 19 laps, set a time of 1 minute, 37 seconds and 727 thousandths, just 64 thousandths behind the best register of the day and only 3 behind the second fastest, Jorge Lorenzo.

Apart from the competition, the three Repsol Honda Team riders collaborated yesterday with a campaign to support Japan developed by MotoGP in these difficult times for the Japanese country after the tragedy it suffered last march.

Dani Pedrosa FP1 – 1:38.259, 19 laps, 79 km. FP2 – 1:37.727, 19 laps, 79 km.
“I think the first day of practice has been positive, it’s the first race after a major operation so it’s only logical that I feel sore and I understand that with a little more time and treatment this will disappear. The pain I feel and some cramps are caused by tension I have in the shoulder area.

The last round of laps this afternoon I wanted to extend a little longer to see how I felt, but I made seven laps in a row, which would be about 15 minutes, and this is not enough to make a definitive judgement. Also, if it rains tomorrow it will be important to have a positive practice to get a good position on the grid”.

Source: Repsol Media