MotoGP: Pedrosa Breaks Collarbone

The Honda rider crashed just five minutes into the Friday practice section at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. Pedrosa went down as he approached turn nine, the V Corner. The RC212V fell over, trapping Pedrosas left leg as it slid into the gravel but it was his shoulder hitting the ground that caused the double fracture to Pedrosas collarbone.

The Repsol Honda team later released a statement attributing the crash to a problem with the throttle cable that prevented Pedrosa from closing the throttle as he approached the turn.

Obviously this has been a really bad day for us, says Pedrosa. 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 couldnt 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.

Pedrosa is scheduled to undergo surgery to have a plate installed on his collarbone. There is no timetable for how soon he can return to racing, but with a 56-point deficit in the championship and just five rounds remaining including three in three weeks beginning with Motegi, Pedrosas title hopes are essentially over.

Lorenzo still cant officially be crowned the 2011 World Champion just yet however. The Fiat Yamaha rider cant mathematically clinch the championship until the Oct. 10 round at Malaysias Sepang circuit at the earliest.

I dont want to think for now how Danis situation will affect me, but I am sorry for him, it's very bad luck to be injured at this stage of the season, says Lorenzo.

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