Despite improving from 19th to 15th during Friday's pair of free practice sessions for the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, injured MotoGP title contender Dani Pedrosa is still decide if it is worth trying to race on Sunday.
Pedrosa fractured his left index finger and the big bone of his left wrist and sprained his right ankle when he fell from the lead of last Sunday's German Grand Prix - handing Valentino Rossi a 16 point lead, with Casey Stoner just four points further behind.
Despite his injuries, the Repsol Honda hopes to race in this weekend's US Grand Prix but, after struggling to overcome the pain on Friday, admits he might not be able to last the full 32-lap race distance.
"I'm feeling a lot of pain and this race is really long and tough, so we still need to evaluate if it's worth racing," confirmed, Pedrosa, who was riding with a modified Alpinestars glove on his heavily strapped, injured hand.
"This morning I went out just to see how I felt on the bike and to see if I could ride. I felt incredible pain, so we decided to use a anti-pain infiltration for the second session. In the afternoon I was two seconds faster, even though I still felt a lot of pain after doing a short run of laps," he added.
Laguna is a hugely physically challenging anti-clockwise racetrack that places exceptional strain on the left hand, wrist and arm. Pedrosa rode 21 laps this morning and 28 laps this afternoon, finishing the day 1.8secs behind Stoner but only one-second from second fastest team-mate Nicky Hayden.
"This track is extremely demanding, with many left-handers and a lot of ups and downs," confirmed Dani. "The downhill sections are particularly difficult as there's more pressure on the hands which makes it even more of a struggle. I can stand the pain from my right ankle when I'm on the bike, but I have to use a crutch to walk."
"Today Dani showed he has a big heart and a strong will because he's riding with a lot of pain. He rode today and this was his first target," said team manager Kazuhiko Yamano. "Tomorrow he will try again and we all hope that he will be able to race on Sunday. The team is doing a great job supporting him."
