Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa has had to make the painful decision to sit out his home grand prix at Catalunya this weekend.

After breaking his collarbone in a racing incident with San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli, Pedrosa went straight in for surgery in the hope to be back on the bike for the the Barcelona round.

However two weeks has proved to be not enough time, Pedrosa realising it is smarted to sit the race out and let the injury heal properly rather than try to ride when he is far from one hundred percent.

“I would love to be in Montmeló with all the fans that follow me but for me if I’m on track, I’m there to fight for victory and offer them a good race,” Pedrosa commented.

“I pushed myself as best as I could but I feel that my collarbone is not yet ready. I think I must stop for a while and recover properly.”

“Since early this year I’ve had many problems and operations and I really believe I must stop now and let this heal properly.”

With the busy European leg of the series running six races in eight weeks, it is a frustrating decision for Pedrosa, as he knows he has the speed and the bike to still bid for the championship.

“It is a big shame what happened. Despite all the problems I had earlier in the season, this year I felt very strong and I was aware that I could beat my opponents,” Pedrosa stated.

“I want to say thank you to you all for your support and hope to be back in full shape as soon as possible to continue giving my best.”

Pedrosa currently sits third in the MotoGP standings.

A date for his return to racing has not yet been set.