Mixed feelings for numb Pedrosa

For former MotoGP title contender Dani Pedrosa, Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix was a test of endurance, due to the broken collarbone he sustained just four weeks ago.

The 25-year-old Spaniard started promisingly from 12th on the grid, climbing as high as fifth place by producing a race pace that at one stage matched eventual winner Jorge Lorenzo's.

But fatigue in his left arm and shoulder was setting in from the third lap and Pedrosa lost strength and feeling throughout the race, meaning there was no way the Repsol Honda rider could maintain this pace.

Despite this, Pedrosa took a comfortable eighth place and gained a valuable eight points which helps to defend his second place in the championship. Pedrosa now has a 19-point lead in the standings over Yamaha's Valentino Rossi, who finished in second place on Sunday.

"I have mixed feelings after this race," said Pedrosa. "On one side the fact that I could finish 28 laps is good because from quite early in the race I didn't know if it would be possible. On the other hand, I could have finished much higher up if I could have maintained the pace we had in the race.

"From the third lap I lost strength in my left arm and I couldn't really feel it. Honestly I didn't think I could keep that pace at the beginning of the race. At one stage I could see that finishing third would have been possible with the pace we were running, but it was impossible because soon I had no power in the arm. With ten laps to go I couldn't keep pushing and I dropped back quite a lot.

"I'm going to have a check-up again with the doctors [on Monday] because the arm still feels quite numb, but anyway we'll have three days to relax and recover to be ready for Valencia. In terms of the position in the championship, I'm 19 points ahead and so I hope to hold on to second place."