Pedrosa out as Simoncelli calls for calm at Spanish GP

Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa will miss the chance to shine in front of his home fans in tomorrow’s Catalunya MotoGP after failing to recover from his latest bout of surgery.

The Honda star, third in the championship, has had a titanium plate inserted to fix a fracture in his right shoulder after crashing last time out at Le Mans following a controversial incident involving Marco Simoncelli.

Pedrosa had been hoping to make his second sensational comeback of the season, having won the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril just weeks after surgery on his left collarbone.

At Le Mans, Pedrosa’s race ended spectacularly with 11 laps to go as Simoncelli nipped past him with Pedrosa’s front wheel clipping the Italian’s bike.

Simoncelli incurred a ride-through penalty for an illegal manoeuvre and he has since received threats ahead of tomorrow’s race from Spanish fans who blame him for Pedrosa’s fall.

The Italian rider was summoned for clear the air talks with officials yesterday.

Simoncelli said he wanted to draw a line under the controversy and appealed to fans to show restraint.

He said: “I know that I’m probably not going to get a standing ovation at Barcelona but I hope that if I am criticised it is done in a civilised manner and not in the way that has happened in other sports in the past.

“In any case I just want to put the controversy behind me and get out there on my bike and start working towards a race that I am sure the team and I have the potential to do well in.”

Catalunya is the fifth leg of the season and it ushers in a hectic sequence of six races over eight weekends.

Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo leads the standings on 78 points, 12 clear of Australian Casey Stoner who turns up on the back of success at Le Mans.

The absent Pedrosa is four points back in third with an 11-point gap back to Andrea Dovi-zioso, with multiple world champion Valentino Rossi on 47 points in fifth and seeking his 10th win in Barcelona.