Instant improvement in comfort noted by Pedrosa

The Repsol Honda rider felt much better riding his RC212V at the Estoril on Friday as he got his bwin Grande Premio de Portugal weekend underway in less than welcoming weather conditions.

Dani Pedrosa ended the first day of the bwin Grande Premio de Portugal satisfied with how he felt physically, as the Repsol Honda rider continued his recovery from the broken collarbone that has forced him to miss the last three races.

The 25 year-old did ride and qualify for the previous round in the Australia but opted against participating in the race due to the pain caused by his injury, and having had an extra 12 days in which to recuperate he noted an immediately improved feeling in Friday afternoon’s second practice at Estoril.

“Straight away I felt much better on the bike here than I did in Australia and the shoulder has recovered a lot, which is very positive,” said Pedrosa, who along with the majority of the premier class opted against riding in the first practice due to the wet weather conditions.

“I feel a little bit tired now, but basically I feel okay after riding today. It was a pity that we missed the whole practice this morning because of the rain, and also at the beginning of the afternoon session the track conditions were difficult, which limited what we could achieve. To be honest I didn’t feel totally at home on the bike today but I think this is normal after so long without riding, and this situation will improve.”

With the focus on re-establishing his comfort on the bike times were not on Pedrosa’s mind, as he completed 19 laps with a best time of 1’53.592 – just over five seconds off Jorge Lorenzo’s top time.