Dani Pedrosa updated the Repsol blog where he writes, and it seems that his slated return for the June 25th Assen GP, is looking somewhat bleak :

“I’d love to know if I’ll be in Assen or not, but it’s something I don’t know yet. Recovery is going somewhat slower than expected and I’m taking taking it day by day. Assen is still a week ahead and I do not know how I’ll be in a few days. I’m a little down, because I want to recover and return to racing, but the evolution of the injury escapes my desire and will. I’m doing everything I can to recover and I’m following medical advice 100%.”

Pedrosa injured his collarbone on May 17 after his controversial crash with Marco Simoncelli and has skipped two rounds so far and that inself has sparked a lot of rumors, with the main one being that the Repsol Honda rider re-injured himself just in some sort of training or domestic accident while he was recovering, which was hotly denied along with the rumor that Pedrosa would no longer race this season.

To try prove that something did happen to Pedrosa post surgery, Italian website Motorcorse even tracked down a picture of Pedrosa at a bowling alley on the eve of the announcement of his Catalunya GP pullout and subsequently also the Silverstone GP.

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From today Silverstone should really be dubbed SilverStoner. The Repsol Honda rider put on a masterful display of riding in treacherous conditions that one could only applaud his skill and wonder how he could manage to stay on and find his way around such a soggy track. Oh yeah, he was also so fast that he lapped Randy De Puniet and Hector Barbera who were swimming around in the back of the field.

“At the beginning of the race we didn’t have a great start and I needed to wait for the tyres to get up to temperature,” said Stoner. “In the first few laps when I was behind the other riders I got a lot of spray up inside the visor and it was hard for me to see, or for me to push. At this time I was being careful, trying to cover my lines to stop them coming inside, then after five laps my visibility got clearer and the water drained away from my visor and I was able to start doing the lap times we were looking for and started to open a gap. I was just happy to stay up on the bike, it was incredibly cold and I was so nervous, because in these conditions it’s so easy to crash! We had a great race today in very tough conditions where anything could have happened, but to come away with a win is fantastic.”

Andrea Dovizioso took an excellent second place podium in today’s race. While Italian may not be considered one of the ‘aliens’ (even Valentino Rossi has lost that status this year) and not as fast as team mates Stoner and Dani Pedrosa and much less spectacular to watch than Marco Simoncelli, but you can always count on him to keep a cool head, be very constant and know his limits.

Continue reading: Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso make it 1-2 for Repsol Honda at Silverstone

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Spanish website’s Motocuatro.com was the first to launch the rumor that Dani Pedrosa was not racing at Catalunya because he further injured himself in some sort of accident (training with his bicycle, with a supermotard or he had a domestic accident) which kept the media busy all during the Spanish weekend trying to find if there was any kernel of truth to the story, despite repeated denials by Repsol Honda and Livio Suppo.

However Pedrosa’s absence from the garage was considered suspicious as Montmelò was his home race and he could have shown up just to sign a few autographs and get his picture taken because that’s promoting (everyone shows up for their home race, even if they’re injured) so Italian website Motocorse.com decided to dig deeper into the story and did some pretty cool investigative work, piecing together several items and coming up with something worthy of any procedural police TV drama.

Here’s what the Italian sleuth found: at the New Park bowling alley in Barcelona, this photo (above on the left) of Pedrosa posing with some fans was taken on Saturday May 28th and note that the Repsol Honda rider isn’t wearing an arm sling and the article also mentions that Pedrosa also bowled that evening.

Continue reading: Sleuthing Dani Pedrosa's supposed second injury

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It was widely bandied around that Hiroshi Aoyama would replace injured Dani Pedrosa at the Silverstone GP and that test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi would be called in to take the vacant spot in Gresini Honda, however Repsol Honda has decided not to call in a replacement rider and will field only Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso this upcoming weekend.

Officially they’ll be only sixteen riders lining up on the grid on Sunday afternoon, but only if Colin Edwards will be actually able to ride less than one week after his collarbone surgery, and if Randy de Puniet doesn’t get bad news tomorrow (Wednesday) when he’ll undergo a MRI scan to check out the conditions of the ligaments in his right ankle, that he injured at Catalunya when Aoyama crashed into him.

Source | crash.net

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When Dani Pedrosa withdrew from taking part in the Catalunya GP many were surprised by his decision, considering that the Repsol Honda rider and his rivals are widely known to try to return to track in record breaking time, even when their physical conditions warrant that they should sit it out a little longer.

The Spaniard cited that his collarbone still wasn’t up to par after surgery and rehabilitation and preferred to skip the round in order to continue the healing process, however rumors began circulating at Montmelò that Pedrosa wasn’t just healing slower, but he actually sustained a further injury while training.

The rumors went from he’d fallen of his bicycle (Pedrosa’s younger brother Eric is bicycle racer), that he had crashed his Supermotard or that he had some sort of domestic accident (those household injuries are a real bitch, just ask Valentino Rossi and Ratthapark Wilaroit) and one of these rumors was the real reason why Pedrosa wasn’t taking part in his home race.

Continue reading: The tales of why Dani Pedrosa was MIA at Catalunya

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Dani Pedrosa has opted to skip this weekend’s Catalunya GP, unable to fight the three week fitness time clock, following the highly controversial run in with Marco Simoncelli at Le Mans which resulted in a fractured collarbone for the Repsol Honda rider.

Pedrosa candidly admitted that following all the physical problems and surgeries he’s recently had, this time he’s going to take the time to heal properly, which has to be a first for the Spaniard, who has probably raced injured more times than healthy in these last seasons.

“After France, I had surgery to stabilise the fracture of my right collarbone and hoped to be ready for Barcelona.I pushed myself as best as I could but I feel that my collarbone is not yet ready. I think I must rest for a while and recover properly. Since early this year I’ve had many problems and operations and I really believe I must stop now and let this heal properly. I would love to be in Montmeló with all the fans that follow me but for me if I’m on track, I’m there to fight for victory and offer them a good race. I feel that is not possible at the moment and therefore the most sensible thing is not to compete.”

“It is a big shame what happened. Despite all the problems I had earlier in the season, this year I felt very strong and I was aware that I could beat my opponents. I want to say thank you to you all for your support and hope to be back in full shape as soon as possible to continue giving my best.”

Whether Pedrosa will be fit enough to take part in the upcoming Silverstone round that takes place June 12 remains still very uncertain.

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Despite all the drama surrounding this round at Le Mans, what really stood out was not only Casey Stoner who clearly domimated the race after shaking off a feisty and then a very unfortunate Dani Pedrosa, but the complete package that Honda has put together, and the fact that it goes well with four completely different riding styles, something that Ducati is still chasing after.

Here’s what the Repsol Honda riders had to say:

Casey Stoner - 1st

The whole weekend has gone so well for us, arriving here from the Portugal test with the bike almost the same and we have improved small things here and there and only needed to adjust the set up for this circuit. We went into the race confident, at the beginning of the race Dani was very fast and he was difficult to pass as he as being cautious. When I overtook him I thought I might be able to take some advantage but he was able to match my times and follow me for some laps, so I continued to push more than I prefer to and eventually I put a gap between us. From this point the race came to me and I was able to focus on my consistency and win. A big thanks to the team and everyone for all their hard work, but my thoughts are with Dani at this moment, I hope he can recover soon as he is a very strong contender for this Championship”.

Continue reading: Casey Stoner: "I had to push," Andrea Dovizioso: "I'm really happy," Dani Pedrosa: "I don't deserve it"

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Dani Pedrosa definitely deserves a lot of respect, because after undergoing surgery on his shoulder earlier this month, the Spaniard came back this weekend to qualify in third in this afternoon’s qualifying session at Estoril.

Casey Stoner has had a bit of problems on his Honda during practice sessions and the first part of qualifying, but managed to turn the situation around and take fourth, while other Repsol team mate Andrea Dovizioso made a big jump forward from a difficult Friday to take the sixth spot on the grid.

“I’m very satisfied with this front row today. It was a very close session as it always is in this circuit and our main target this afternoon was to be on the front row, so I’m happy about this,” said Pedrosa. “For tomorrow, we will try to set up our bike a bit better for the race distance. I know that physically it will be tough for me because after the recent surgery my shoulder has improved a little but it is still very stiff and the muscles hurt. Anyway, I hope to be able to stay with Lorenzo because for sure he will be consistant and that will be one of the key points in the race. The weather is nothing that we can change, so we will need to also be ready to do our best in any condition”.

Continue reading: Dani Pedrosa hoping to last the distance, Stoner finds improvements, Dovi happier

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Following the surgery to relieve to relieve the compression on his left subclavian artery that hampered his first two races of the season, Dani Pedrosa blogged an update his health status on Monday following a new medical check-up.

With less than two weeks before the Estoril GP, Pedrosa reports that his recovery seems to be going well, but his true fitness will be tested when he gets back on his Repsol Honda.

“The truth is that it went well and in the days that have followed I’ve adjusted my routine to the recommendations made by the medical team, so that the recovery goes as well as it possibly can. Today (Monday) I had a routine medical check and it seems that things are going well, although we have to be cautious until I get back on the bike in Portugal,” said Pedrosa. “I’m eager and motivated to return to competition to test the feeling I have on the bike, and to see if I can forget about these problems as soon as possible. The past few days I have been relaxing at home, getting in the rest recommended by the doctors.”

Despite his ongoing physical problems, Pedrosa is just nine points behind leader Jorge Lorenzo.

“Even though a break in the calendar has coincided with the recuperation I have a lot of motivation to return to competitive fitness, working with the team and above all getting on the bike. Looking at what has happened so far we arrive in Portugal with 36 points and nine behind the leader and that’s taking into consideration the fact I was injured. The truth is that we have a very positive balance with which to face the Championship, which has only just begun.”

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Dani Pedrosa is starting the first stage of passive rehabilitation today, following the surgery he underwent last Wednesday in Spain to decompress his left subclavian artery.

The Repsol Honda rider had a medical check-up yesterday at the Teknon Medical Centre in Barcelona, and the doctors who performed the surgery verified that the wound was healing properly, no infection has set in and the stitches are to be removed next week.

Pedrosa is expected to be fit enough to participate in the Grand Prix of Portugal, which will be held at the Estoril circuit on May 1st.

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Currently second in the MotoGP standings with two podiums, Dani Pedrosa, as widely anticipated has undergone the necessary surgery to decompress his left subclavian artery and will be at the Teknon Medical Centre in Barcelona for the next 48 hours for post-operative treatment.

The surgery was performed by Dr. César García-Madrid, vascular surgeon, and Dr. Joaquim Casañas, trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, both specialists at Teknon, who removed the titanium plate and screws that were placed in the Spaniard’s collarbone after his crash at Motegi last year and also separated the fibrotic tissues that surrounded the costoclavicular space. An intraoperative angiography by minimally invasive transfemoral approach confirmed the return of the subclavian flow, with the Repsol Honda rider expected to make a satisfactory recovery.

Next week Pedrosa will begin the usual rehabilitation process and is expected to be present at the Estoril GP on May 1st.

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When your sponsor is dishing out millions and millions of euros to sponsor and support your team, you’ve got to man it up, even if they put make-up on you and fix your hair with gel and hairspray.

This is the new Repsol commercial that is now being aired that stars Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso, Casey Stoner and new Moto2 star Marc Márquez.

This neat slow motion footage was shot in Barcelona with images from the Parcmotor Castellolí circuit in junction with the team’s launch at Repsol’s Puertollano industrial complex (Ciudad Real) that took place two days ago.

Check out the behind the scenes video after the jump.

Continue reading: Repsol Honda 2011 commercial (w/videos)

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