Pedrosa troubled by hip injury

The Honda rider has suffered from severe discomfort in his right hip since jarring it when catching a moment during morning practice. He said he was currently unsure of the exact nature of the injury, but that it had been a major inconvenience in qualifying.

"I have much pain in my hip," Pedrosa told the official MotoGP website.

"This morning I had a slide and I had a big shake on the bike, and when this happened I felt a crack inside my hip.

"Something must be a little bit wrong there because the pain is so intense. When this pain comes on, all my power is gone - the body cuts all the power to the leg.

"I really cannot understand it. We tried in qualifying, but even with an injection it didn't work. It's strange."

Pedrosa languished towards the rear of the field for much of qualifying, before making it up to eighth place, just one spot behind his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso by the end.

The Spaniard has been blighted by injuries for almost a year now, but despite missing most of winter testing while recovering from surgery and crashes, he is currently fourth in the championship, just nine points adrift of series leader Jorge Lorenzo.