Catalunya MotoGP: Faultless Dani Pedrosa closes gap in title chase

Home favourite Dani Pedrosa slashed Valentino Rossi’s world championship lead to just seven-points with a crushing victory in front of a record 113,150-strong crowd in Catalunya.

The factory Honda rider led from start-to-finish to claim his second win on home soil in 2008 after his victory in Jerez earlier this season.

Pedrosa said: ““I’m very happy about this win, my thanks to all the people around me. Today was also very important for the championship, I am now five points closer to the lead, but there are still many races ahead of us, so we need to keep pushing and be consistent.

“We had a few issues in practice here, so my team was thinking what they could do and they made a small adjustment before the race that improved the bike and helped me to run that pace.

“Once again, a big thanks to them. I couldn’t believe the fans, it seems like every year there are more and more.

“I’m very happy they were here because I know it was difficult to get into the track today. I was all alone, pushing to go faster and faster and I could see everyone cheering me on.

“At one point I lost a bit of concentration, but I got my focus back and kept pushing. Now we have two days of tests which will be very important for the next few races.”