Dani Pedrosa: No regrets over late Ohlins switch

Dani Pedrosa insists he’s got no regrets about not opting to switch to Ohlins suspension when given the chance by Honda last August.

The Spaniard goes into the eagerly anticipated season opener in Qatar on Sunday night on the back of a nightmare winter testing campaign on the new factory Honda RC212V.

Much of the triple world champion’s pre-season problems have centred around a struggle to make a smooth transition to Ohlins suspension after an entire career spent on Showa.

Pedrosa ended winter testing in a dismal 13th position under the Losail International Circuit floodlights last month and has had a problem in adjusting to Ohlins on Honda’s new 2010 factory V4.

Italian team-mate Andrea Dovizioso though did switch to Ohlins in Brno last season and while he initially struggled, he’s been the best Honda rider in winter testing and finished third quickest in Qatar last month at the night test.

Pedrosa confirmed to MCN today that he will run a modified chassis in Qatar to try and solve a major stability issue that has dogged him throughout the winter campaign in Malaysia and Qatar.

Pedrosa, who finished third in the 2009 MotoGP world championship, said: “I have no regrets about that (not switching to Ohlins in ’09). Right now I can’t find the feeling. That’s why the winter was not good and quite difficult.

“For some reason right now with my bike or me something is not working. The bike is shaking all of the time. I have something to try with the chassis.

“I hope it works and I can have a better feeling. It is just a modification to the chassis because it is so difficult to know what is missing and how to fix it is not that easy.”