The World Championship hopes of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) received a huge blow at today’s Misano Grand Prix, where the Spaniard was taken out by another rider on the very first lap.
Expectations of another great duel between title rivals Pedrosa and Lorenzo were high as Pedrosa lined up on pole position, with just 13 points between him and the championship leader. But the start was aborted when Karel Abraham (Ducati) stalled his machine on the grid. During the preparations for the delayed start, Pedrosa’s front wheel became locked, and when the one minute board was shown his mechanics had to move the machine to pit lane to fix the problem. He was then told he had to start the race from the back row of the grid.
Already charging through the pack after his usual strong getaway from the grid, Pedrosa was hit by Hector Barbera (Ducati) at the Quercia hairpin. Neither rider was injured in the collision. However, Pedrosa’s title hopes sustained significant damage. With five rounds remaining he now sits 38 points behind Lorenzo.
Rea had a promising MotoGP debut, complicated by the miserable weather that dominated the three ‘free’ practice sessions. The Ten Kate World Superbike rider needed dry track time more than anyone, but on/off drizzle made sure that the circuit was not fully dry until yesterday’s qualifying session. In the difficult circumstances Rea kept his head and rode an intelligent race, learning plenty for his next MotoGP outing at Aragon in two weeks time.
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: DNF
“It was total chaos and many things happened at the same time. It all began with the restart because the procedure was not at all clear. Nobody knew if it was one minute, three minutes, warmers on or off… We were also getting different information about the number of laps, 26, 27… Then suddenly we were told it was one minute to the start of the race, with no board signage, nothing. The mechanics were rushing to prepare and when they tried to take off the warmers my front wheel was somehow locked. They tried to unlock it, but they weren't able to and due to the one minute warning – where they are not allowed to touch the bike anymore – they put me to the back of the grid. I tried to remain focused, not make any mistakes on the first lap, make clear moves to overtake riders and I was eighth or ninth when Barberá hit me from behind, and that was it. I'm very upset because even if it's easy to say now, I think I could have had a chance to win this race, even starting from last place on the grid. Now the championship is obviously more uphill for me, but I will continue the same way. We have done everything we could so far, the bike is working well and I'm riding well, too. So it's not over for me; there are still 5 races to go and we will do our best.”
Jonathan Rea, Repsol Honda: 8th
“It was a tough race and I just wanted to get into a rhythm and maintain it. I'm still nowhere near the limit. I'm not really having any moments, just a few mistakes running wide. It's a matter of trust and I'm still acclimatising to the machine. I'm really happy with the progress I made throughout the race and I learnt so much that you simply can't pick up in testing – how the tyre wear goes down, the fuel load and how the bike behaves differently. In the beginning Nicky pulled a gap and then I was catching him, but in the end it wasn't enough. To finish eighth is okay, but the gap to the front is a little frustrating. In general I'm really happy and I'm looking forward to the next challenge in Aragon. I want to thank all the Repsol Honda team for their hard work and support they've given me and to all the fans back home.”
Repsol Honda Press Release
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Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/sFx6VFWFsBu/Pedrosa+out+of+luck+in+Misano
Philipp Hafeneger Kensuke Haga Noriyuki Haga Josef Hage Andreas Hahn
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