After finishing this morning's FP1 in 21st place, Dani Pedrosa bravely placed his RC213V in 10th place in FP2.
Nothing was certain in advance Dani Pedrosa who suffered from pain and lack of strength after theright wrist surgery last week. He also used a particular glove, larger than usual.
Being able to finish a session, even in 21st place like this morning, was already a challenge, especially since the American track requires excellent physical condition with its strong braking and very rapid changes of direction.
But finishing in the top 10 at the end of the day can only arouse the deepest respect for the unfailing will of the Spanish driver: hats off!
With the weather forecast calling for rain on Saturday, Dani Pedrosa's performance today could put him in the top 10 in the overall qualifying standings, which would allow them to advance directly to QP2 and guarantee him a start on the first 4 lines.
Dani Pedrosa, 21st in FP1, in 2'09.111: “Honestly, this first “test” was very difficult. It's a difficult track, and I have a lot of difficulty doing everything here, especially when changing direction and braking. I tried to do a run gradually to see how I felt. The pain is what I expected, but I was hoping for more strength. We will see this afternoon in FP2 whether the pain increases or not. If it doesn't change, it will be a good sign and I will have possibilities; but if it gets worse…. things will be more difficult. The condition of the asphalt doesn't help, as there is no grip and the surface is quite dusty. The work they did didn't help with the bumps, and it reduced the grip.”
Dani Pedrosa, 10th in FP2, in 2'05.761: “I'm happy with the result this afternoon, because we finally managed to get a better position than I expected, and that's very positive. That said, both sessions today were difficult, especially FP2, because this afternoon I made the maximum effort to understand if it is reasonable to race on Sunday. This morning I felt a lot of pain, but I just tried to feel what I could do on the bike. My pace wasn't very good, so I tried to get to a better position this afternoon, and I'm very happy with the result. Now we must try to control the swelling before tomorrow's action. This is now one of our biggest goals as the swelling has increased due to exertion. We will do our best to manage the pace a little better tomorrow so that we can look forward to the race with the aim of getting some points.”
Austin MotoGP J.1: Chronos
Photo credit : MotoGP.com
