Dani Pedrosa was encouraged with an eighth place finish on his debut with the pneumatic-valve Bridgestone-shod Honda, although he admits the adverse weather at Indianapolis didn't help his cause.
With a new specification Honda and different tyres beneath him, Pedrosa faced a steep learning curve around the American circuit, but ran in the upper echelons of the mid-field in the early stages of the race as he adopted a cautious approach.
Gaining in confidence as the race wore on and the conditions improved, Pedrosa briefly worked his way up to sixth, but would eventually come off worse in a tussle between Sylvain Guintoli and Chris Vermeulen.
Furthermore, the return of Hurricane Ike, one that caused horrendous weather conditions with around ten laps remaining, meant the race was ended prematurely and Pedrosa had to settle for eighth.
Nonetheless, despite the somewhat average finishing position, Pedrosa was pleased with the result given his lack of miles on the bike, especially in conditions such as those.
“That was a very tough race. I started quite cautiously and then I began to push harder, but in the mid-stages I wasn't fast enough and I lost some time. Towards the end I found a good pace. Four or five laps before Race Direction stopped the race, the wind got really strong and there was a lot of dirt and debris getting blown on to the track.
With a new specification Honda and different tyres beneath him, Pedrosa faced a steep learning curve around the American circuit, but ran in the upper echelons of the mid-field in the early stages of the race as he adopted a cautious approach.
Gaining in confidence as the race wore on and the conditions improved, Pedrosa briefly worked his way up to sixth, but would eventually come off worse in a tussle between Sylvain Guintoli and Chris Vermeulen.
Furthermore, the return of Hurricane Ike, one that caused horrendous weather conditions with around ten laps remaining, meant the race was ended prematurely and Pedrosa had to settle for eighth.
Nonetheless, despite the somewhat average finishing position, Pedrosa was pleased with the result given his lack of miles on the bike, especially in conditions such as those.
“That was a very tough race. I started quite cautiously and then I began to push harder, but in the mid-stages I wasn't fast enough and I lost some time. Towards the end I found a good pace. Four or five laps before Race Direction stopped the race, the wind got really strong and there was a lot of dirt and debris getting blown on to the track.
“Finishing eighth is not a good result for me, but considering the conditions I couldn't do any better. All in all, it has been an important weekend for us. We have gained a lot of experience in both wet and dry conditions which will help in the future, so we will keep working hard. The tyres worked well today and I'm feeling confident for the next race at Motegi in two weeks time.”
Source:
http://www.crash.net