Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner Back Together at Motegi

The Honda team will be back at full strength for the Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi, Honda's home track, with Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner rejoining team-mate and championship contender Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) for the first of the three flyaway races.

Pedrosa arrives in Japan having equaled his career mark of four MotoGP wins and having set a new personal MotoGP record of podiums with 12. With four races to go, the Spaniard is certain to break both marks, and he will have to if he is to continue his quest for the 2012 MotoGP World Championship.

Having won in Aragon in the European getaway round, Pedrosa closed the gap on points leader Jorge Lorenzo to 33.

Motegi has been a welcoming track for Pedrosa, a track that he likes and looks forward to. Pedrosa won in 2011 with a 7.3s margin of victory. That win completed the triple-crown for Pedrosa; he has now won in all three categories he has raced at Motegi, 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP. Last year's win came after he had missed the 2010 race when he broke his collarbone in practice through no fault of his own.  Prior to his injury, he had been third in both 2008 and 2009.

When Stoner rolls his Repsol Honda RC213V onto the Twin Ring Motegi circuit on Friday morning, it will have been 55 days since he suffered significant damage to his right ankle in a qualifying crash for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Stoner missed the final three races prior to the flyaways-Brno, Misano, and Aragon-while recovering at home in Australia. He has spent the time with his young family and keeping up with the MotoGP World Championship. Now the two-time MotoGP World Champion is ready to return.

Stoner returns at a track where he finished third to team-mate Pedrosa last year on his march to the 2011 MotoGP World Championship. Stoner also won the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix following a battle with then Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, who fought Stoner until the two-thirds mark in the race when the Australian was able to make a clean break. Stoner also finished second at Motegi in 2008 and was on the podium in both the 250cc and 125cc classes.

Dani Pedrosa

"Motegi is a race I always look forward to. It's the most important weekend for Honda and I really enjoy the circuit. We have now the most demanding period of races ahead, but we will keep taking things step-by-step, thinking race-by-race. I love Motegi, it's a track with strong braking and strong acceleration. You must work very hard for the anti-wheelie, handling with the throttle, braking stability and good drive out of the corners. We had a good race there last year and we will work hard with the team to be as competitive as possible."

Casey Stoner

"It's going to be great to see all my team and get back on my bike in Motegi this weekend. The last six weeks have been pretty tough for me. I've had to sit around and rest my ankle, get some physio and try to occupy my time - thankfully I've had (daughter) Ally around to keep me occupied. I've been watching the races at home. I felt bad for Dani (Pedrosa) in Misano, but these things can happen, as they did for Jorge (Lorenzo) in Assen. The Motegi circuit is very stop-start with a lot of hard braking and accelerating. It's pretty tough on the body and physically quite demanding. The first session on Friday will be crucial to see how my ankle feels in the boot and the degree of movement I have and pressure I can apply."

Repsol Honda Team Press Release

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Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/TQIncSW8gDl/Dani+Pedrosa+Casey+Stoner+Back+Together+Motegi

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