The Repsol Honda Team to face the GP of Catalunya without Dani Pedrosa Unfortunately, this weekend the Repsol Honda team will compete the fifth round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship, the Grand Prix of Catalunya, without Dani Pedrosa. The Spaniard had surgery on the 18th May to repair a fractured right collarbone caused during his crash in the Le Mans race. It was hoped that through rehabilitation he would be ready to participate this weekend in the Grand Prix of Catalunya, however, due the bone healing slower than anticipated he has been forced to follow a more conservative treatment. How the injury heals from this point on will determine the timetable for his return to competition. Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso, arrive at the Catalan circuit with Dani in their thoughts but also very motivated after their 1-2 at Le Mans. This year the circuit celebrates its 20th Anniversary since first opening its fantastic facilities to the World of Motorsports in 1992. Historically Honda has performed very well in Catalunya and has never failed to place a rider on the podium, apart from in 2009. Over these two decades the Montmeló grandstands, with a capacity of 104,000 spectators, have enjoyed 31 Honda rider podiums. Dani has achieved 3 wins and 7 podiums in Catalunya; Casey, 1 win and 5 podiums 3 in the last 3 seasons- and Andrea Dovizioso has 1 win and 4 podiums, but the victory in MotoGP class eludes him. The Catalunya Grand Prix marks the start of a very busy period for the riders and teams, with six races to be held in the next eight weeks. The action packed weekend will commence early for the Honda Racing Corporation, with the presentation of the NSF250R 4-stroke machine on Thursday, the prototype to be used for the future Moto3 class in 2012 that will replace the current 2-stroke 125 model. CASEY STONER World Championship position: 2nd with 66 points “After such a great weekend in Le Mans I’m really looking forward to going to Barcelona, it’s one of the first Grand Prix tracks I rode on and I’ve always enjoyed it. It’s a very flowing track and the Spanish crowd are amazing. In the past Dani has proven our bike performs well there, so hopefully we can get there and find a reasonably good set up, fast and be competitive because we really need to start taking back some more points. I am very happy to hear that Dani’s operation went well and I hope that his recovery time is quick. It’s a shame he cannot be riding in his home race, but I really wish him a quick return back to track”. DANI PEDROSA World Championship position: 3rd with 61 points “After France, I had surgery to stabilise the fracture of my right collarbone and hoped to be ready for Barcelona. I pushed myself as best as I could but I feel that my collarbone is not yet ready. I think I must rest for a while and recover properly. Since early this year I’ve had many problems and operations and I really believe I must stop now and let this heal properly. I would love to be in Montmeló with all the fans that follow me but for me if I’m on track, I’m there to fight for victory and offer them a good race. I feel that is not possible at the moment and therefore the most sensible thing is not to compete. It is a big shame what happened. Despite all the problems I had earlier in the season, this year I felt very strong and I was aware that I could beat my opponents. I want to say thank you to you all for your support and hope to be back in full shape as soon as poss ible to continue giving my best”. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO World Championship position: 4th with 50 points “I’m happy heading to the Catalunya Grand Prix after my second position at Le Mans. This is one of my favourite circuits, it suits my riding style and it’s a good track also for the Honda RC212V. It’s a long track with fast corners and it’s a great feeling when you find the right flow and link one turn with the next. I have always had good results here and after the podium achieved in the last race we arrive competitive and motivated to repeat a good performance. The atmosphere at this circuit is fantastic, there are always many spectators who are truly passionate. With the Catalunya GP starts a very demanding period of the season with 6 races in 8 weeks. Personally, I like having two races in a row because you keep working on the bike without a break and it’s good also as a rider as you spend more time on the bike. I’m very sorry for Dani and I hope his rehabilitation goes well”.