Pedrosa to battle for championship third in Australia

Dani Pedrosa

REPSOL HONDA Spanish Smurf Dani Pedrosa says he's got to pull his finger out and push for a win at Phillip Island this weekend in a bid to bag third overall from Casey Stoner at the end of the season.

Stoner is three points behind Pedrosa, despite the Ducati man missing three rounds this year, but even that scary fact doesn't seem to be worrying Pedrosa too much.

He said: “I'm really looking forward to racing in Australia again. It feels like one of the most important races of the season for me and I'm very motivated to do my best there, get a good result and hopefully challenge for the win.

“I've had mixed experiences at Phillip Island but there have been some very good memories and those are the ones I’ll be focusing on going into this weekend. The objective for the remainder of the season is to keep third place in the championship and score at least one more victory, so if that can come in Australia, all the better.

“The circuit is great to ride and the atmosphere is also unique and special. The track itself is a little bit bumpy in a few places and that combined with the really fast curves makes set-up very important because you need to be able to ride aggressively here to go quickly. I’ve had podium finishes in the last two races at Misano and Estoril and this weekend we’ll be looking for that little bit extra to give us a chance of winning. The weather can be unstable in Phillip Island, but it’ll be good to get out on track on Friday.”