Dani Pedrosa suffered a double fracture of the left collarbone which means the Spaniard is unfortunately out of the Grand Prix of Japan.
The crash happened only five minutes into the first practice session when the 25-year-old was still getting up to speed. As he began braking for turn nine, he lost control and fell, with his left leg at first remaining under the bike as he slid into the gravel.
The unlucky fall, just three laps into the session, was caused when a small problem with the throttle cable didn‰Ûªt allow Pedrosa to close the throttle when he came to brake, an issue which has already been investigated and resolved.
‰ÛÏObviously this has been a really bad day for us," a dejected Pedrosa said.
"It was a strange crash in only my second full lap, in a slow section of the track. I tried to stop the bike as usual but I knew something was wrong and couldn‰Ûªt avoid going down. After the crash I knew immediately that I was injured because it was very painful.
"I had a big impact in my left ankle and also my collarbone was broken as I hit the track - so obviously it feels very unlucky because recently we have had really good results. I‰Ûªve been very healthy through the pre-season and through the year and we had been working a lot to get to and stay at the maximum level. Another injury to contend with is really not what I needed - I don‰Ûªt feel as though I deserve it. Anyway, once the doctors had checked everything here, we decided it was best to go back to Spain for the operation. I hope it goes as well as possible and that I can return to racing soon," the Repsol Honda rider concluded.
Pedrosa will return home to Spain tonight, with an operation scheduled for tomorrow to plate the fractured collarbone.
Main Photo: Dani Pedrosa
Credit: HRC
