Fastest Pedrosa: We have to repeat it tomorrow

Dani Pedrosa has kept his Friday timesheet-topping performance in perspective as he looks to build on a positive start in hot temperatures at Brno for Repsol Honda.

The Spanish rider leapt to the top of the times with a late flying lap using new soft tyres in a qualifying simulation to set the fastest lap time of the day with a 1m 55.976s in FP2.

Despite the confidence-boosting result, Pedrosa accepts it can’t be cherished too much as a number of riders opted not to go for a late time attack including Repsol Honda team-mate Marc Marquez (who ended FP2 in 10^th).

Pedrosa feels the result can be used as a timely boost but he must repeat it in qualifying for it to benefit him ahead of the Czech Republic round.

“Today we did a good job especially in FP2 we started in the first part of the practice with a good pace and working really with the hard tyres and both runs were quite okay,” Pedrosa said. “Then we ended the practice also doing a good job because we put in the softs and I was able to improve my lap time and I was able to do a good lap time and this is positive because in this moment I always struggle to improve.

“Today I could manage to be faster. Anyway, we have to keep our feet on the ground because not every ride put in the soft and because we have to repeat it tomorrow in qualifying.”

With Marquez pinpointing Pedrosa and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso as two of the riders with the best pace at Brno, the Spanish rider says he still hasn’t ‘found the correct feeling’ but the hotter track temperatures are aiding his charge by getting heat into the Michelin compounds.

“I said before I hadn’t found the correct feeling on the bike and still I feel it is not completely what I want,” Pedrosa said. “I was able today to produce the lap times much more and be in the correct pace compared to the rest of the riders.

“For some reason here today it was better than normal but as I said it I will keep calm for tomorrow.

“I’ve never been in the position of the others to know exactly what they feel after days like today. I don’t know if it is helping or not but for sure I've not had many days this year.”