Having surprised himself by qualifying second, in his second race back from a broken collarbone, Dani Pedrosa went on to claim an 'amazing' victory in Sunday's German MotoGP.
Pedrosa had been sidelined for three races after breaking his right collarbone in a controversial clash with Marco Simoncelli at Le Mans in May.
It had been a devastating blow for the 2010 title runner-up, who had only just overcome complications with a broken left collarbone - sustained late last season - and who taken his first win of this season at the previous Estoril.
Eighth in both qualifying and the race on his comeback at Mugello, Pedrosa made a jump forward this weekend at the Sachsenring, one of his most successful tracks.
First into turn one, the Spaniard dropped as low as fourth in the race, before overtaking Repsol Honda team-mates Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner, then Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo to regain the lead on lap 22 of 30.
Pedrosa went on to win by 1.447sec.
"It's an incredible feeling to be back and win a race so early; I didn't expect it, but this circuit has been always very good for me and I made it happen," said Pedrosa. "I was already surprised yesterday with second position in qualifying and to finish the weekend in this way is amazing, a huge relief for me after a very hard time with injuries.
"Here I suffered less than in Mugello because of the layout, but in the race today I had a strange feeling, something I've never had before. At the beginning of the race I wasn't feeling great on the bike, I was fourth but I didn't get nervous or worried because I'm still not mathematically out of the championship battle, but I know it's almost impossible.
"So, I just let the laps pass and in the middle of the race, with less fuel in the tank and when the tyres started sliding, I decided to step it up a little and it worked perfectly. I'm very happy with this victory, I've been suffering a lot even though this race track is not physically demanding, because I'm still weak.
"So a big thanks to my family and doctors that helped me to be back here because they all know how hard it has been. Also to my team and to all my fans that never gave up, they deserve it also".
Pedrosa's victory was his 14th in the premier-class, making him the most successful rider yet to win the title. Pedrosa is now up to fifth in the 2011 championship, but 74 points from Stoner.
source: crash.net
source: crash.net
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