Dani Pedrosa targeting Qatar return

Injured Spaniard Dani Pedrosa has refused to rule himself out of the opening MotoGP race of 2009 in Qatar next month.

The Spaniard is facing a desperate battle to be fit for the opening race under Qatar’s floodlights on April 12 after he suffered a broken left arm and damaged left knee after a crash during the night test session earlier this month.

The Repsol Honda rider was forced to miss Honda’s 2009 official team launch in Madrid last weekend while he continues his recovery, but did speak to fans via a satellite link.

Pedrosa recently underwent double surgery on the broken radius bone in his left arm, and he also needed a skin graft to repair damage on his left knee.

During his interview on a big screen at the Repsol Honda launch, Pedrosa confirmed he still couldn’t bend his left leg for at least another two weeks, effectively ruling him out of the final winter test session in Jerez on March 28/29.

Pedrosa said: “I feel well and I’m patient because I still need two weeks before starting to move the knee. I’m sorry I couldn’t be with all the fans gathered in Madrid for the team presentation but I need to recover and in this moment I have to listen to my body. It was good to have the possibility to say hello to all the fans from Barcelona thanks to the video conference, I’m happy I could attend even only in a TV screen. I would have liked to do more training, but I will do it in different way. My target is to be ready for the first race in Qatar that will take place in a month.”