I do think that professional racers often come back too quickly from a broken collarbone. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) came back just a week after breaking his, and rode to a podium position at Silverstone two weeks ago. His teammate Cal Crutchlow broke his collarbone at Silverstone, and is expected to try to race this weekend at Assen.
By contrast, Honda’s Dani Pedrosa broke his collarbone at LeMans on May 15, roughly 5 weeks ago. Honda has just announced that he will miss this weekend’s Assen round, and his Repsol ride will be handled by the Japanese teammate of Marco Simoncelli, Hiroshi Aoyama. What is really wrong with Pedrosa?
It is true that Pedrosa had a second surgery recently to reattach a floating bone fragment, but this sounded like a rather minor affair, particularly compared with the surgery that Colin Edwards had just prior to his return at Silverstone. Pedrosa, of course, had nerve damage as a result of a prior collarbone break on the opposite side, but that should not be impacting the current situation.
The European press, particularly in Spain, is full of speculation about why Pedrosa is still out. Some news sources claim Pedrosa injured himself while riding a supermoto bike. Others seem to indicate that Pedrosa may have some fear associated with returning to racing quickly as a result of his difficulty coming back from the breaking of his opposite collarbone, and the associated nerve damage.
Whatever the reason, neither Honda nor Pedrosa is talking about it, and you can expect that Pedrosa will be grilled by the press when he does eventually return to the track
I like Dani. Met him a few times at Laguna and he’s very friendly.
’06 Estoril was a long time ago, and most of us should get over the hate for his error.
He does seem fragile, but he’s ridden with tons of injuries over the years.
Granted, he could use a personality injection, especially with the press. But he’s mellowed/matured a good bit these last few years and can actually be seen smiling and sometimes joking with fans/press.
Contrast with Spies, who just won his first GP yesterday. It almost seems like he’s had his personality completely removed. His post race interview was lame!!! Sounded like he’s just finised a nap or something. He can ride, but I am not a fan.
We are a funny lot aren’t we speculating on what is keeping Dani off the bike while all along it could just be his heart, Talent alone many times is not enough, you have to have heart.
When dani took Nicky out a few years ago Nicky complained, but showed heart we all know how that year ended
Rossi,Stoner,Lorenzo,Edwards,Spies,Hayden,Simoncelli(Excuse the spelling) they all seem to show huge heart Rossi almost takes out Lorenzo Lorenzo fights back and wins it all.
Simoncelli has a altercation with Pedrosa and dani pouts like a school girl, sorry not a fan he may be able to ride like the wind, but to me I don’t see the heart
Just my opinion whatevr it’s worth
honestly I think this is an excellent opportunity for Honda to develop its anti-highside electronics combined with a better suit to protect the riders from broken bones. It must get tiring having to deal with a broken collarbone every week.
Who better to test all that than a guy with two broken collarbones.
“I recall Colin Edwards doing much the same thing at the end of his Yamaha WSB ride. He went on to the HRC WSB team, and we all know how that went. ”
actually, no we don’t all know…but that’s ok 😉
I think it’s pretty simple: he’s got two broken collarbones and he’s on a team with two healthy riders, one of whom is now leading in points and the other is what, third while the last years’ champ is 2nd and he’s tied with Rossi for fourth? As long as Honda is happy with it, what’s he got to lose by not riding? Simoncelli could take out any of the other 3 at any time.
I hate to do something rash like suggest a reasonable explanation, but perhaps once he realized he let his championship chances slip he decided to take all the time needed to get his collarbone healed before risking breaking it again. Colin Edwards is quite a bit larger than Pedrosa, and probably needs to make sure he earns a ride next year more than Pedrosa has to worry about that. I realize that’s not a terribly manly explanation in the field of motorcycle racing, but not unreasonable.
Probably the “most” reasonable explanation.
It’s funny you bring up the possibility Pedrosa is resting to fully heal. I recall Colin Edwards doing much the same thing at the end of his Yamaha WSB ride. He went on to the HRC WSB team, and we all know how that went.
Good Gravy, how this page has gotten away from motorcycling
Maybe because Dani is so small that he is more fragile than say Colin. He is a fantastic talent though, and I’m sure he will be back soon.
You guys are ruthless! He may be a horse’s a** in personality but he is a great rider. Perhaps not as long lasting and precise as some through the years but he does add to the sport. I’m not as young as he and I certainly would heal and recover from surgeries as easily but I have had some and they take some time to recover. I can only imagine the pain they must have when jumping back on so quickly. And as already said, every injury is different. If he needs more time he needs more time, it’s just the way it is.
I broke my collar bone riding a supermoto bike and it took six plus months of begging my doctors and HMO to get it fixed, but then I didn’t have access to MotoGp level health care. Seeing Colin wave both hands up over his head one or two days after his break made me want to cry. Almost two years after my injury I still can’t do that without some discomfort.
Every injury is personal and if Dani feels he needs more time let him have it.
I personally don’t care for him (although I only base this on what I see on TV) but he is a very talented rider that ads a lot to show.
What a bunch of armchair heroes here! Guess everyone’s so hard, what riding around on a track day at less than 1/10ths of what these pros do. Yep no doubt Edwards is insane, but he kinda needs it given that on his best day, he finishes down from Pedrosa on an off day.
Not all breaks are equal, there are breaks, and there are breaks.
Just another reason why he’ll NEVER be world Moto GP champion.
+1
He’s a fragile bird. WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS HOW TO CHANGE MY AVATAR IMAGE! Anyone?
Most likely its because he is a soft Co*k.