Repsol Honda Rider Pedrosa Finishes Fourth At Misano
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Sep 01, 2008
MotoGP
Repsol Honda RC212V rider Dani Pedrosa battled for a podium result at red-hot Misano this afternoon, the Spaniard eventually finishing fourth to bolster his third place in the World Championship. Team-mate Nicky Hayden did not race to prevent further aggravating his right foot injury.
Pedrosa rode a strong race in 35 degree heat, announcing that he is on the way back to full fitness following the left hand and wrist injuries he suffered in last month’s German GP. He completed the first lap in second place, slipped to fifth, then fought back in the mid-stages to challenge for third place. It was his best result since he finished a brilliant second in June’s Dutch MotoGP round.
Hayden decided not to race after sitting out the morning warm-up session. The 2006 MotoGP World Champion broke two bones in his right heel when he made a heavy landing during practice for the Los Angeles X Games Supermoto event on August 1. He missed the recent Czech Grand Prix but was determined to ride here, following treatment including bone stimulator, laser and ultrasound therapy. Hayden is currently walking with the aid of crutches or a walking stick to keep pressure off the heel to aid healing. Unfortunately, riding at Misano was only making the still-healing bones worse, with possible consequences for the final five races of the season. This morning Hayden and his team therefore took the tough decision to withdraw from today’s race. He will fly to the US tomorrow to continue treatment and get the foot in the best-possible shape for the Indianapolis Grand Prix on September 12/13/14.
Dani Pedrosa, finished 4th, 3rd in World Championship
“That was a definitely a very physically tough race for everyone. It was very hot, much hotter than yesterday. Anyway, I can say I’m quite happy with the result. I didn’t expect to finish fourth at the end. We had some trouble during the second half. We had two different rear tyres to choose from and I only made the choice on the grid. I went for the softer of the two tyres, thinking to gain some advantage during the early stages of the race. Obviously it wasn’t the best option. But we had a much better race than we had at Brno and I did my best, so I am quite happy.”
Nicky Hayden, did not start, 11th in World Championship
“This wasn’t an easy decision. I love to race and the racer in me wanted to race, but in this kind of situation it’s better to listen to the experts. The heel got worse as the weekend went on. I was sixth on Friday morning but I kept working my way backward after that, the more I rode, the more strength I lost in the foot. When I woke up this morning I had a lot of swelling and bruising, there wasn’t any way the foot was going to fit in a boot. The team and I took the decision to try and be smart, to try to let it heal as best it can to get it ready for Indy, which is a huge race for me. I felt I could have salvaged a little something out of today’s race but that was just going to make things worse for Indy and for the rest of the season.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
“Fourth position isn’t so good because we were targeting the podium today, but Dani fought well. It is great to see him come back so strongly after a difficult weekend at Brno. Now we have five races left and we will target victory. We believe Nicky made the correct decision not to ride and we fully support his decision. Nicky is a real racer, so he very much wanted to race here. But it is better for him to be in a better situation for the final five races, rather than to race here and do further damage to the heel.”
