From a press release issued by Repsol Media Service: Less than month away from the kick-off of the 2008 World Championship, Dani Pedrosa’s first aim is to complete his recovery from the injury in his right hand, and, most importantly, give the final touches to the preparation of the RC212V 2008. At 22 years of age, the Repsol rider faces his third season in the ranks of the Repsol Honda Team with a clear goal: to change the No. 2 he will wear this year for the No.1 that would proclaim him the 2008 MotoGP World Champion. The night before the Official MotoGP Test in Jerez we talked with Dani Pedrosa about the imminent start of the 2008 season. The unavoidable question… How is the injury in your right hand doing? “The truth is that it could be better, but it could be worse. The operation went well and everything is developing as expected; I might say even faster. But that does not alter the fact that we’ve got eight weeks for full recovery. They just took out the stitches and I have started doing exercises, but of course I still find moving my hand very difficult; It’s a bit tense in all that area. Doctor Mir says that it’s normal and that I should be patient.” After some time, are you now sure about what happened to make you fall twice in the same day in Malaysia, both times because the front tyre lost adherence? “Not yet, because I’m still waiting for Honda to explain the analysis they carried out on all that. It seems there are certain differences in the chassis, which Hayden also noticed. But, from a distance, I don’t know exactly what happened. I know I lost my front wheel and that in November in Jerez it didn’t have the same feeling; it was much better. Now we have to wait to see when I can get back on a bike and see if I can get back the feeling I had in November.” Are you worried about reaching Jerez with a lot of work to make up for? Could your forceful pause during the important Malaysian and Australian tests affect you this season in 2008? “We are evidently quite behind, I won’t deny that. But thinking about that right now won’t be of any help. When I go to Jerez, the first thing I’ll do, before trying to run fast, will be to see if I’m alright on the bike, which is what worries me the most. Once that’s done I’ll see how I am and how far I can go.” Your third season with the Repsol Honda Team, surrounded by people you trust. A year for the definitive fight for the title? “Every year is a good year to contest for the title, but it is not always possible. Of course, our goal this year is to go for the title and to try and do our best. The fact that we had this accident is just a small setback which does not distract us from our objective, which is to win the title.” Everyone talks of Stoner, Rossi and Pedrosa as main candidates for the title, that is, a Ducati rider, a Yamaha rider and a Honda rider… Do you think there is anyone “hidden”, like Stoner last year? What do you think of the fact that the main favourites are three riders from three different brands? “I don’t know really, who might or might not be there. What I really care about is being alright, getting totally recovered; I hope my bike performs better than last year, that they supply me with what I asked for, and if that’s there, then I’ll get my act together. I think the fact that there are three brands is good. The more brands the better. It means that the championship is healthy, interesting, and that’s good for us all.”