Pedrosa wants to bounce back in China

The Repsol Honda rider was involved in an accident on the opening lap of the Istanbul race, and although he sustained no major injuries, he was forced to miss the post-event test and undergo precautionary checks in Barcelona.

Although Pedrosa says he still not feeling one hundred per cent, the former 250cc champion is aiming for a good result in China, where he scored his maiden MotoGP win last season.

"I'm looking forward to racing in China because I want to put Turkey behind me as soon as possible," said Pedrosa. "I've still got a bit of a stiff neck and some discomfort in my chest, but I'll be ok to begin first practice on Friday.

"It was a shame about the result in Turkey, but these things can happen when you have a lot of bikes going into a slow corner - it's racing.

"Of course I have very good memories from my first MotoGP race win there last year. The weather can be very wet here so we'll just have to hope that it stays dry this year. It will be interesting to see how the 800s feel and perform on this circuit - I think the straights could feel very long."

World champion Nicky Hayden is also hoping for a strong result in Shanghai to kick-start his season after a series of disappointing races.

Hayden is currently in seventh position in the championship with 26 points, 35 less than championship leader Casey Stoner.

"I had a pretty decent result in China last year and we certainly need to go there and put in a strong performance this time," the American said. "I'm looking forward to getting back to into a routine of races as the season really gets going and hopefully I can go to China, take a step forward and get up front.

"Although the final result at Turkey wasn't a lot better than the first two races, it was fun to be up there in the mix and battle for the podium spots right in front of me. We've just got to keep moving forward, get a good grid position and fight at the front."