Aoyama replaces injured Pedrosa at Honda

Posing with the media yesterday, today Dani Pedrosa fell and broke his collarbone

Hiroshi Aoyama will replace Dani Pedrosa at Repsol Honda after the Spaniard fractured his collarbone during free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Pedrosa was pitched into the air after losing control at Turn 11 and landed heavily on his collarbone, with medical staff at Motegi confirming Pedrosa had fractured his collarbone.

Aoyama, the 2009 250cc champion, will now stand in for Pedrosa for the rest of the weekend.

Aoyama has made 68 MotoGP starts, with a best of fourth at the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix, and filled in for Pedrosa for three events last season.

"I was on the out-lap of my last run in FP2 when I momentarily lost the rear entering Turn 11, and when the tyre found grip again it launched me in the air," he said.

"There's not much more to say; now I just want to focus on recovering in order to get back on my bike as soon as possible."

Aoyama will have only limited practice time before participating in qualifying.

"First of all, I'm very sorry for Dani and I wish him a fast recovery," he said.

"This definitely is not the best way to come into a race, but anyway, I'll try and give my best for Honda in front of my friends and fans."