Pedrosa confirms he will race in Qatar

The Honda rider re-injured the knee in a crash while testing at the Qatar circuit on March 2nd and hasn't ridden a bike since, thus missing out on the MotoGP Official test at Jerez ten days ago.

His wrist and knee were originally hurt when he crashed out of the lead of the German GP last July.

Repsol Honda says that Pedrosa is determined to take part in the race on Sunday, being "cautiously confident that he will have sufficient flexibility and strength in his left leg to compete in Sunday's 22-lap race."

"First, I've got to say I'm really happy to be going to Qatar for this race," said the Spaniard. "It's clearly been quite a difficult winter for me and not the preparation for the season that we would have chosen.

"But my recovery from the surgery in March has been good - probably a little better than we expected - and that means I have the chance to make the first race, which is great.

"Obviously I haven't been able to do the usual level of physical training while I've been injured, and we've missed out on some testing time, so we have some catching up to do.

"But I know my team hasn't been standing still while I've been away and I'm really looking forward to getting back on the bike and riding for the maximum result possible for my situation."

Pedrosa finished third in the race last year, the first ever grand prix held under floodlights.