Dani Pedrosa ruled out of German MotoGP race

A vicious high-side crash in yesterday morning’s third practice session at the Sachsenring has ruled Dani Pedrosa out of this afternoon’s German MotoGP round.

The Spaniard suffered a small fracture in his left collarbone in the spill at the first corner but it is low blood pressure that has forced him to withdraw from the 30-lap race.

Pedrosa had planned to participate in this morning’s 20-minute pre-race warm-up session, but when he didn’t emerge from the Repsol Honda truck, serious doubts emerged about his chances of starting the race.

Confirmation that he is unfit to ride came shortly before the start of the Moto3 encounter and his absence from the race means he misses a golden opportunity to seize control of the 2013 world championship chase.

With closest title rival Jorge Lorenzo already recovering in Barcelona after he was ruled out by a nasty high-side crash on Friday afternoon, Pedrosa looked certain to extend his lead of nine-points over the factory Yamaha rider.

Cruel luck though has been an almost constant companion for the triple world champion in a career that has seen him fail to win the premier class crown in seven previous attempts.

He is expected to be fit for next weekend’s Laguna Seca clash in California, which is a race Lorenzo has also withdrawn from while he recovers from a second major operation on his left shoulder in 15 days.