MotoGP 2015: Dani Pedrosa fit to race for Repsol Honda in French Grand Prix after arm-pump surgery

DANI Pedrosa will make his MotoGP comeback at this weekend’s Grand Prix of France after recovering from radical surgery to alleviate arm-pump.

DOHA, QATAR - MARCH 27: Dani Pedrosa of Spain and Repsol Honda Team heads down a straightl during the MotoGp of Qatar - Free Practice at Losail Circuit on March 27, 2015 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)

DANI Pedrosa will make his MotoGP comeback at this weekend’s Grand Prix of France, which will be just his second race appearance of the 2015 season.

The Repsol Honda rider stood down after finishing a distant sixth in the season-opener at Qatar in order to find a solution to the arm-pump problem that had plagued him since early 2014.

He underwent radical surgery soon after, doctors removing the entire layer of fascia — the casing that surrounds the muscle — in the afflicted forearm.

After initially aiming to be fit for the Spanish Grand Prix, Pedrosa will instead make his return to racing at Le Mans.

“Now, finally, I can tell you that I will be in Le Mans this weekend,” he wrote in his blog for Repsol.

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“My recovery has gone well, I think I was right to be patient and take it slowly, and to respect the time frames that I needed.

“The truth is that I’m really keen to get back on my motorbike, as I’m sure you can guess.

“It’s not just about that, though. I’m also excited to get back to my team to work side by side with them again. They’re a great bunch.”

Pedrosa’s return comes at a crucial time for Honda, who has fallen behind fierce rivals Yamaha in the manufacturer’s championship battle after the opening rounds of the season.

Although test rider Hiroshi Aoyama did workmanlike job on the second factory Honda in Pedrosa’s absence, the lack of a top-line racer alongside Marc Marquez has hurt Honda’s overall points haul.

Yamaha head to Le Mans with a 19-point advantage over Honda, who are just two points ahead of Ducati, with points earnt by the manufacturer’s highest-finishing rider.

Originally published as MotoGP 2015: Dani Pedrosa fit to race for Repsol Honda in French Grand Prix after arm-pump surgery