Pedrosa ecstatic to prove fitness

The Honda rider had surgery between the Jerez and Estoril races to remove a plate inserting on his collarbone following his Motegi practice crash last year, which had begun to cause him to lose feeling in his arm during races.

Yesterday he was concerned that as he was still healing, he might lose pace during the grand prix. But instead he was able to keep the pressure on Jorge Lorenzo all race, overtake the Yamaha with four laps to go, and then pull away.

"Of course the race win is super but I can tell you when I was with Jorge and the laps were going on, I was just smiling inside because I was so happy about my arm," said Pedrosa.

"Okay, I had muscle pain, but no numbness and no problem. I was thinking 'if I finish second in this race I am more than happy because it looks like the problem is gone'.

"So I'm super-happy. The race was amazing.

"Jorge put in a very strong race and he made it much more interesting."

Pedrosa said he owed the victory to the medical team that had worked with him prior to the race.

"Thanks to all the doctors and all the physios who helped me to be here fit, even with some pain, but thanks to all of them," he said.