Bruised Pedrosa confident of fitness

The Spaniard initially feared that he had broken a bone after a violent high-side during the Japanese round a fortnight ago.

But it was later confirmed that he had escaped without any fractures, and although Pedrosa said he is still in discomfort, he does not expect the pain to cause any problems at Phillip Island.

"I'm feeling better now after the Japan crash," he said. "I still have some bruising and pain in my left foot but it should be okay for Phillip Island.

"There are lots of left-hand corners at this circuit which will put some pressure on the foot but I think it will be fine."

Pedrosa, who dominated practice and qualifying at Motegi only to lose ground in the race prior to his crash, is optimistic about Repsol Honda's chances in Australia.

"I've had some really great moments at Phillip Island and also some very bad results," he said.

"It's funny because I never seem to have an intermediate result at this track. Last year was a disaster with the rain in the race, so this year I'm hoping to balance that with a good result.

"We tested at Phillip Island before the start of the season when the RC212V was very new. That test went well and we achieved a pretty good set-up for
the circuit.

"It was quite a while ago though and a lot has changed with the machine and the tyres since then so we'll still have plenty to learn in practice. Also the weather can be very variable at this time of year - as we saw last season - so a lot will depend on the forecast and the tyre choice on Thursday as always."