Australia MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa aims for strong finish

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa is confident he can finish a disappointing 2009 campaign on a high.

The Spaniard has again failed to mount a serious world title threat this season but goes into the final three races hopeful he can pick up at least one more victory.

The triple world champion will start this weekend’s Australian GP in Phillip Island holding a slender three-point lead over home favourite Casey Stoner in the battle for third in the final world championship standings.

And Pedrosa said: “I’m really looking forward to racing in Australia again and I’m very motivated to do my best there, get a good result and hopefully challenge for the win.

“I’ve had mixed experiences at Phillip Island but there have been some very good memories and those are the ones I’ll be focusing on going into this weekend.

“The objective for the remainder of the season is to keep third place in the championship and score at least one more victory, so if that can come in Australia, all the better.

“The circuit is great to ride and the atmosphere is also unique and special.

“The track itself is a little bit bumpy in a few places and that combined with the really fast curves makes set-up very important because you need to be able to ride aggressively here to go quickly.

“I’ve had podium finishes in the last two races at Misano and Estoril and this weekend we’ll be looking for that little bit extra to give us a chance of winning.”