Dani Pedrosa in Catalunya test crash scare

Just over 24 hours after his dominant victory in the Catalunya GP, Dani Pedrosa has been taken to hospital in Barcelona for precautionary checks on a back injury suffered in a massive testing crash this afternoon.

The factory Honda rider crashed his RC212V having just flicked left after going through the first corner. He was high-sided and landed heavily on his shoulders and back in a crash witnessed by Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards.

The Texan told MCN: “It was like Jorge’s (Lorenzo) in Shanghai. It was a massive crash and he pretty much landed on his head.”

Pedrosa was on his first flying lap out of the pits and riding at a moderate pace, according to Edwards.

His manager Alberto Puig immediately drove the triple world champion to hospital for checks on his back, though Pedrosa was up and walking.

It is not clear yet whether he will return to the Montmelo circuit for testing tomorrow, but it is unlikely as his long-awaited return to testing the pneumatic valve RC212V motor was a dismal failure.

Around 30 minutes before his tumble, Pedrosa had broken down on the new V4 with an as yet disclosed technical problem.

He crashed on the conventional spring valve motor he used to win his second race of the season yesterday that closed the points gap on Valentino Rossi to just seven-points.