Two weeks after fracturing his collarbone during the Japanese Grand Prix free practice, Dani Pedrosa returns to the competition at the demanding Phillip Island Circuit, the venue for the sixteenth event of the 2010 Motorcycle World Championships. Alongside him, his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, aspires to follow along the same lines that have achieved him two consecutive second positions and fight for the win in the two last meetings of the calendar. A win which Marc Márquez will also be hoping for in the 125ccs to consolidate his lead of the group.
Dani Pedrosa will arrive at the Australian event still in recovery from the fracture to his left collarbone which has caused him to be out for the last two weeks. The Repsol rider has been recovering satisfactorily from the injury, as well as from the back and shoulder contractures and has been able to recover the strength and movement in his arm which forced him to rest during such an intense stage of the season.
His team-mate, Andrea Dovizioso, is looking towards the Australian Grand Prix with the motivation of keeping up the good work from the last events that have led him to climb to the second step of the podium both in Japan and Malaysia. The Repsol rider has recovered his consistency, shown at the start of the season and, having fought for the win up to the last turn last Sunday at Sepang, he will be working towards climbing the step which he is missing at the spectacular Phillip Island track.
A venue where Marc Márquez also arrives with every chance of fighting for a win, in a stage of the season in which he has demonstrated himself to be in top form. The Repsol rider arrives with two jobs well done in the first two transoceanic events, where he did not give his rivals a chance and, in Australia, he aims to work in the same vein which has returned him to the top of the category.
Dani Pedrosa
“It was hard to take the decision to not go to Malaysia, but after another week I feel it was the right thing to do because during these days my condition has improved quite a lot. So I’m looking forward to getting to Australia and finding out how I feel on the bike. I will arrive at Phillip Island on Wednesday to have some time to recover from the flight and rest a little bit. I know it will be tough because Phillip Island is a very demanding track and also the weather conditions can play a big part, but I really believe it’s time to come back with my team and try to return to the high level of performance we had before the crash in Japan. After the operation I began rehabilitation immediately. The surgery was very successful and the plate was well fixed, so the main problem was not the collarbone but the stiffness in my neck and all around my shoulders. I’ve been ha ving massage and doing exercises with my physiotherapist and I will keep this up in Australia. The championship is decided, but for us it’s still not over. The target now is to retain second place in the standings and continue working on the bike so that we arrive in good shape for the winter tests, when we will start working for next year”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“We arrive in Australia in a strong position with two consecutive podium finishes under our belts from two tracks with very different layouts and race day temperatures. This means that we have made a big step forward. We have improved things a lot in terms of set up and electronics, and now we are able to fight for wins. On Sunday in Malaysia we finished just two tenths from Valentino, and we need to stay at that level and be consistent. Also, in the last two races there were two different winners, while we have been consistent in second place. So I’m confident that we can also be competitive at Phillip Island; a very demanding and technical track, and one of the fastest on the calendar. We aim to finish third in the world championship this season, so we need to score good results in the remaining races. Phillip Island is a very spectacular place; the circuit is very close to the ocean and this makes it unique. The atmosphere on race day is always really good because there are a lot of fans who are truly passionate. The real unknown is always the weather as it’s always very changeable and it can be really cold. Anyway, cold conditions are not an issue for us so we are very confident for the Australian GP.Marc MárquezThe most important thing is that we have worked so hard in the last two races and, the result of that has been two very valuable wins at this point in the season, which have enabled us to arrive in Australia once again as leaders of the World Championships. Anyway, we know that three points are not much and, in the remaining races we have to take it step by step, keeping up the pace of Japan and Malaysia. A quite unsettled weekend in expected, so we have to be very focussed in making the most of the track time to achieve a good set-up for the chassis for the fast turns and for the engine, because on this circuit, you ride for much of the time at full throttle. It’s a track which I really like and the whole team are a hundred percent motivated”.
