Pedrosa: “It was a strange race”

‘Baby Samurai’ opens 2017 with a top five

After delays, a shortened race distance and tricky conditions at Losail International Circuit, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) made the best of a tough night in tough circumstances. Unable to push how he wanted on the front tyre, the Spaniard crossed the line in fifth – just behind teammate Marc Marquez.

After tousling with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) early on, Pedrosa fought back past Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) in the latter stages to close on Marquez - giving the team a good points haul first time out.

Aleix Espargaro, Dani Pedrosa, Grand Prix of Qatar

Dani Pedrosa, P5: “It was a strange race from the beginning, due to these conditions with the rain and the delayed start. It was hard to remain focused during those moments. Then we did our best to manage the race, but we suffered a lot with the front tyre, which turned out to be too soft for us. We couldn’t push with the front and I think that all the Hondas had the same problems. Saving the tyre to make it last until the end was hard, and above all we weren’t able to push. Anyway, it’s just the first race; we must immediately concentrate on the next one, try to solve this issue and have a good race in Argentina.”