Pedrosa targets victory

Dani Pedrosa is targeting victory in this weekend's Indianapolis MotoGP race as he seeks to banish the memory of his crash in the same event 12 months ago.

On that occasion, the Repsol Honda rider appeared in a class of his own at the Brickyard, topping the timesheets throughout practice and qualifying before taking an early lead in the race.

However, disaster struck Pedrosa when he pushed too hard, too quickly and came off his bike.

Although he has no realistic chance of overhauling the 77-point deficit to championship leader Jorge Lorenzo during the balance of the season, Pedrosa says he will be pushing for victory on Sunday nonetheless.

"I'm going to Indianapolis in a very good mood and I'm feeling ready to finish the job we weren't able to complete in the race there last time," said Pedrosa, who finished second behind Lorenzo in the Czech MotoGP a fortnight ago.

"I felt really comfortable riding in Indy last year. I was on top of the timesheets from the first practice, I took pole position and the only mistake I made was in the race. So I hope this time we can put together a strong weekend and take another good result.

"We were fast and consistent at the last race in Brno and we'll be aiming to get straight back on that pace again this weekend."

Risk avoidance

Fiat Yamaha rider Lorenzo is likely to prove the major obstacle standing between his fellow Spaniard and victory, however, having yet to finish a race this season outside the top two.

The 23-year-old inherited the win at Indianapolis last year and also finished top of the podium the last time MotoGP travelled Stateside to Laguna Seca a month ago. However, he acknowledged that he has no need to take unnecessary risks this weekend.

Lorenzo said: "This weekend will be the second race in this country in 2010 and I am looking forward to it because I would like to repeat the same result as I got in Laguna!

"I just have good memories from America, last month in Laguna and last year in Indy. Last year was amazing, but this time I don't need to take too many risks. We can avoid it!

"Indy is a track that I like a lot and it has amazing history. The team and I are planning to continue our great season there this weekend."