Cycle News

IN THE WIND P28 PEDROSA SIDELINED? D ani Pedrosa's immediate racing future is in doubt after the return of severe arm-pump problems at Qatar. But Honda race boss Livio Suppo denied that he will be calling Casey Stoner as an emergency re- placement. Pedrosa qualified second, but slumped to sixth in the open- ing round of 2015, and made a statement after the race not only explaining his problems, but suggesting that he might pull out of the action for the foreseeable future. "It's a long story. In this race again I had an arm-pump issue that I've had for one year," Pe- drosa said. "I started to have a lot of problems last year, strug- gling in every race. My results were never good because of this." Surgery after round four at Jerez had failed to solve the problem, though he didn't say anything in public. During the winter break, Pedrosa looked for answers. "I travelled all around and saw several doctors, seeking new surgery," he said. "All the answers were the same—recom- mending that I should not have surgery again. I tried working in a non-aggressive way, but today I had this bad situation again." His immediate interest was to seek a solution as soon as possible. "I need to solve the problem," he said. "I cannot continue to race and perform in this way. But I don't know exactly what to do." Suppo was not sure if Pedro- sa would race in Texas. "I think the best thing would be for him to sleep on it, and try to find a solution," said Suppo. "Honda will stay close to him, and support him." It was too soon to say if he would race at the next round, but when asked if he would approach Stoner—who recently confirmed he will race at the Su- zuka 8 Hours this year—Suppo laughed. "Casey has said many times he will never come back to MotoGP," he said. Michael Scott Dani Pedrosa is questionable for upcoming round at the Circuit of the Americas. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE TEXTER TO RACE TWINS A MA Pro Flat Track racer Shayna Texter has partnered with Crosley Brands, CEO, Bo LeMastus to form Sixth Man/Shayna Texter Racing to race the GNC1 class at all five of the Grand National Mile Rounds, as well as the Don Tilley Memorial Half-Mile recently added to the schedule. Crosley Brands sponsored Texter's Pro Singles (now known as the GNC2 class) effort in 2013. Origi- nally LeMastus and Texter were looking ahead to 2016 to possibly revisit the Crosley Brands sponsorship when it evolved into putting an effort together this season. The Sixth Man/Shayna Texter Racing effort allows her to have a more "hands on" approach to her rac- ing program, including the set up and tuning of her Kawasaki flat trackers. Rich Hanson will also continue as her lead mechanic. "I am really excited about the 2015 season," Shayna said via release. "Last season was my first year in the Expert [GNC1] ranks. Although I had some success, I learned I had a lot to work on this offseason with myself, and my program, if I want to be competi- tive at this level. I am confident with the team assembled behind me that I can reach my goals for this year and beyond. I am very excited to get to Springfield and put on my work clothes." PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA WILSON Shayna Texter to race all five Grand National Miles and the Don Tilley Memorial Half-Mile.

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