A spectacular highside during Friday's second free practice session at Sepang has left
MotoGP title contender
Dani Pedrosa with a deep cut just below his right knee and in doubt for the remainder of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old Repsol Honda rookie, who starts the event second in the world championship standings and 25 points behind team-mate
Nicky Hayden, was fastest at the time of his mid-session fall - and such was his pace that the Spaniard only dropped one position, to
Loris Capirossi, in his absence.
Pedrosa's strange accident occurred when a front-end slide during the fast right-hand turn 13 caused his right knee to impact on the inside kerb, triggering a highside.
The tough triple world champion walked away but was immediately treated in the Clinica Mobile where four stitches were required to seal the deep cut, which is two centimetres wide. The injury is restricting movement of Dani's right leg and he also damaged the big toe of his left foot. Pedrosa will now have a medical check on Saturday morning to see if he can take part in qualifying.
"Today things were going pretty well. I had a good feeling from the bike and felt comfortable with the pace I was running," said Pedrosa after the accident. "But then I had a crash in turn 13 and landed heavily. It started with a small slide from the front tyre and the bike dropped a little which made my right knee hit the kerb. I'm pretty sure it's this impact that caused my injury. I can remember the whole crash, which is a good I suppose, and I was able to walk away, although it was quite painful. We'll see how it feels tomorrow and decide if I can take part in the morning session - I really hope so."
"Dani's pace was very good from the start - he was improving even quicker than usual, but then he was caught out by a trap," added team manager Makoto Tanaka. "Usually a rider is ok if he loses the front, but when it's a high-side he lands very heavily and unfortunately Dani hurt his knee. He walked away from the accident which is a good sign, and we'll wait and see if he can ride tomorrow morning."
