Dani Pedrosa battled through the pain barrier to win the Portuguese MotoGP on Sunday less than a month after shoulder surgery.
Pedrosa finally ended Jorge Lorenzo’s 100 per cent record at Estoril with a victory which closed the gap at the top of the MotoGP standings.
Reigning champion Lorenzo had won all three of his previous MotoGP visits to the Portuguese circuit from pole position and looked set to again take his factory Yamaha to victory for most of the race.
Lorenzo leads the standings with 65 points, Pedrosa is second with 61.
“It has been very difficult for me lately so to be here after such an inconvenience is incredible,” said the 25-year-old, referring to his recent shoulder operation.
“The race was very tough, Jorge had amazing pace all the time. But at the end I was there with him and I didn’t want to be second again.
Pedrosa was showing no ill effects from an operation to remove a steel plate from his shoulder and continued to stalk Lorenzo.
Pedrosa finally made a move with four laps remaining as he dived up the inside to take the lead and opened up a huge lead instantly to streak into a three second advantage by the flag.
Lorenzo, 23, said: “I didn’t let him pass, he was just a little bit faster. He was behind me all the race and maybe I was more tired physically because I was pushing and pushing and he was just following me.
“He deserved the win, the important thing was to finish the race and get some points for the championship.”
There was further drama at the finishing line as Dovizioso nipped in front of Rossi right at the end.
Pedrosa was delighted to claim his first victory of the season and put his injury worries behind him.
He said: “I’m very happy for the win, but more than the win I’m happy for my condition and it seems that my surgery was finally successful.
“I was trying to rest my arm at times as it was cramping with 15 laps to go, I was riding behind Jorge and waiting for the numbness to come together with the loss of power, but it didn’t come.
“I’m just so happy to see that the surgery has worked, it’s been around six months with this and it’s a big relief.”
