Dani Pedrosa rues second half form as title hopes vanish

Dani Pedrosa has admitted his form in the second half of 2013 simply wasn’t good enough to help him capture an elusive MotoGP crown in his eighth attempt.

A third place in last Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi ended the Spaniard’s world title hopes now he is 38-points behind Repsol Honda teammate Marquez with only the final round in Valencia remaining.

Pedrosa has only won once in 13 races and his challenge suffered a massive blow in Germany back in mid-July when he broke his collarbone in a practice crash.

At that stage he was leading the world championship but the 28-year-old admitted after the Japan clash on Sunday that he has not been strong enough in the second half of the season.

Pedrosa thrust himself into contention for the 2012 title a year ago with some brilliant performances and he won six out of the final eight races.

But he told MCN: “This time I did a good first half but the second half wasn’t that good and I couldn’t get any stronger for the second part of the championship. All I can do is try to keep moving forward.”

Pedrosa’s title hopes were dealt a crushing blow last month when he fell out of second place at the Motorland Aragon race in Spain.

He was ruled out in the cruellest of circumstances when minimal contact from Marquez severed a rear wheel speed sensor cable that disabled Pedrosa’s traction control.

Asked if it was the Sachsenring or Aragon falls that had been critical in undermining his challenge, the triple world champion said: “It doesn’t matter. In the championship you have ups and downs and even the small things count for points. At the end you have to maximise the biggest moments and minimise the worst.”