Pedrosa hoping for dry race

The HRC Honda rider, who secured his third pole of the season after battling out the top spot with Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies in qualifying, is hoping to maintain the momentum of his recent victory at the Sachsenring in Germany.

"I think we did a good practice," he said. "We improved from yesterday and again from this morning. It was good to do some laps. I'm happy to be on pole again after such a long time, but now I have to look ahead to the race.

"Nobody knows about the weather tomorrow but I just hope that the track stays dry for the race."

Pedrosa has never won a MotoGP race in the wet and has a reputation for being fast but fragile whenever it rains. Nevertheless he said his focus was to prepare for any eventuality.

"We've done a very good job so far this weekend and we have established a good pace for the race, but we still need to keep a clear mind, stay focused, and try to be ready for any conditions because the weather forecast for tomorrow is very uncertain.

"I hope if it's dry we can have a strong race and go for the victory. I won't really be approaching the race tomorrow with a particular strategy. In this championship you have to find your own limit because there are a lot of riders going fast and you can only concentrate on your own performance and do the best you can.

"So I really hope to do a great job tomorrow and at least to be back on the podium."