Repsol Honda Team to face the GP of Catalunya without Dani Pedrosa
The Spaniard had surgery on the 18th May to repair a fractured right collarbone caused during his crash in the Le Mans race. It was hoped that through rehabilitation he would be ready to participate this weekend in the Grand Prix of Catalunya, however, due the bone healing slower than anticipated he has been forced to follow a more conservative treatment. How the injury heals from this point on will determine the timetable for his return to competition.
Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso, arrive at the Catalan circuit with Dani in their thoughts but also very motivated after their 1-2 at Le Mans. This year the circuit celebrates its 20th Anniversary since first opening its fantastic facilities to the World of Motorsports in 1992. Historically Honda has performed very well in Catalunya and has never failed to place a rider on the podium, apart from in 2009. Over these two decades the Montmelo grandstands, with a capacity of 104,000 spectators, have enjoyed 31 Honda rider podiums.
Dani has achieved 3 wins and 7 podiums in Catalunya; Casey, 1 win and 5 podiums – 3 in the last 3 seasons- and Andrea Dovizioso has 1 win and 4 podiums, but the victory in MotoGP class eludes him.
The Catalunya Grand Prix marks the start of a very busy period for the riders and teams, with six races to be held in the next eight weeks. The action packed weekend will commence early for the Honda Racing Corporation, with the presentation of the NSF250R 4-stroke machine on Thursday, the prototype to be used for the future Moto3 class in 2012 that will replace the current 2-stroke 125 model.