Stoner on poll as Pedrosa forced to withdraw

The injuries he sustained to his left hand and right foot during last Sunday's race in Germany have forced Dani Pedrosa to withdraw from today's USA MotoGP at the Laguna Seca circuit in California. The young Catalan rider sat out yesterday's third and final qualifying session, and will return to Spain to continue his recovery. Casey Stoner took full toll and will start at the front of the grid for today's race ahead of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Jorge Lorenzo will start fourth, ahead of Britain's James Toseland, who came in fifth. "It was a difficult decision to return home, but I couldn't do anything else this time," explained Pedrosa via an official statement issued by the Honda team yesterday. "Yesterday (Friday), I suffered a lot in both sessions. In the morning I realised that, without painkillers, I couldn't even... [read full story]