Pedrosa decides to miss Sepang

Pedrosa broke his collarbone in a practice crash at Motegi last Friday, and underwent surgery in Spain last weekend.

Yesterday he said that while his target was to return for the Phillip Island race in just over a week, there was a slight possibility that he would travel to Malaysia for this weekend's grand prix. However he has now decided that he is not in good enough shape to do so.

"After the successful operation, there was a very slim chance that the Spaniard would be fit enough to make the journey from Barcelona to Malaysia and attempt to take part in this weekend's MotoGP race," said a statement from Pedrosa's Honda team.

"However, after careful consideration, Pedrosa has made the understandable decision to stay at home to continue his recovery.

"The target for his return remains the Australian Grand Prix, practice for which begins on October 15."

Honda will not replace Pedrosa at Sepang, so Andrea Dovizioso will again represent the works team alone.

Pedrosa's absence from Malaysia means that his title rival Jorge Lorenzo just needs to finish 10th to clinch the 2010 MotoGP championship.