Qatar MotoGP: Alex de Angelis warned after Dani Pedrosa clash

Honda rider Alex de Angelis was ticked off and warned about his future conduct after a clash with injured Spaniard Dani Pedrosa in last night’s Qatar MotoGP race.

The Gresini Honda was summonsed before Race Direction on Monday night and warned after he slammed into the side of Pedrosa while fighting for sixth place with the Spaniard and Aussie Chris Vermeulen on lap 11.

Pedrosa was lucky to stay on board his factory Repsol Honda RC212V machine and he eventually faded to 11th place, still struggling with the left leg and hand injuries suffered during a pre-season testing crash in Qatar.

The triple world champion said: “I suffered a lot physically in the race, and de Angelis gave me a big hit mid-race. The collision was avoidable I think because he could have passed me cleanly. My knee was giving me a lot of pain by the end and my left arm was pretty tired too. Still, we came away having completed the race and with a few points, which was our target, so I’m happy.”

San Marino rider de Angelis shrugged off the incident and his subsequent warning from Race Director Paul Butler.

He went onto finish sixth and said: “I was called up to Race Direction to put forward my version of the collision with Dani but there was no complaint against me so it wasn’t a big deal.”