Aragon pace shows "terrible" Misano not my fault

Pedrosa was desperately off the pace in the preceding San Marino Grand Prix, unable to get his Michelin tyres within working temperature range on the wet track.

As teammate Marc Marquez romped to victory, Pedrosa finished 14th, beaten among others by LCR Honda privateer Cal Crutchlow despite the latter having crashed earlier in the race.

Yet less than two weeks on from Misano, Pedrosa looked to be thriving at a damp Aragon, finishing second to Marquez in FP1 and then posting the best time of the day in FP2.

Asked whether he could explain the discrepancy between his wet-weather pace at Misano and Aragon, Pedrosa said: “No. I only can tell you the bike is the same, the tyre is the same, the rider is the same. The only difference is the track.

“Obviously it’s a shame in Italy to be that terrible. But at least we know we are fast [here], at least we know, and next time when these things happen, we know it’s not really rider’s fault, or mechanics’ fault.

“We know it’s some external thing, not anything not being the way it should be.”

Pedrosa added that his improved pace in Aragon did not come as a surprise.

He said: “Not today, it surprised me in Misano. Not today. I know here in the wet we are fast. But Misano was surprising to see that we cannot use the tyres.”

Teammate Marquez, who ended Friday as fourth-quickest, said he felt strong on the bike, but was trying to take no risks – given that the rest of the Aragon weekend is expected to be dry.

“Of course was important to ride to get the feeling with the bike, but difficult to take conclusions or information," he said, "because looks like tomorrow and Sunday will be dry conditions.

“Was the day that get the feeling, but also minimise the risk level. I mean, we ride the bike, just try to get the feeling, but don't push the limit, because in the end the track tomorrow will be dry.”

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont