MotoGP stars
Valentino Rossi and
Dani Pedrosa have each given their version of events after a bizarre clash during Friday's second free practice session at Qatar, which left Pedrosa tumbling through the gravel.
The incident occurred on the exit of turn 14 with 20 minutes of the second hour-long session to go, when Pedrosa suddenly speared into the back of Rossi at a time when both should have been accelerating equally.
Rossi, after a brief glance over his shoulder, was able to ride away unharmed, but the front tyre-to-back tyre contact threw Pedrosa from his RCV and into the floodlit Losail gravel.
Unfortunately, Dani aggravated his recently fractured hand in the accident, and finished an already difficult day - during which he switched between the 2007 and 2008 spec RC212Vs - just tenth fastest.
"The accident happened when I was riding behind Rossi. I was catching him and he did something unexpected, so I couldn't avoid him," said Pedrosa. "The accident forced me to stop the session earlier than I'd planned, so I will need to have a long talk with my mechanics tomorrow before we go out again. My right hand and arm are certainly tired after all the riding today but the only problem is that the hand is now very painful again."
Pedrosa may have said that Rossi 'did something unexpected', but the Italian insisted he was riding normally.
"I'm really sorry that Pedrosa fell, and I hope that he is okay," began the seven-time world champion. "I was riding normally, if not at lap record pace, but I think he was travelling faster behind me and wasn't able to stop when he exited the turn and hit me from behind. It was unlucky."
Rossi went on to finish the first day of the 2008 season in eighth position, while the three Michelin-shod M1s sat inside the top four.
"Earlier this evening it was a bit warmer than at the last test and it was helping us quite a lot, because we were already faster and lapping close to the leaders. Unfortunately later on in the second practice the track seemed more slippery and we suffered a lot," said Rossi, who will make his
Bridgestone race debut on Sunday.
