Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa is not taking part in today's MotoGP test at Catalunya in order to give his injuries more time to heal ahead of the next round at Assen.

The diminutive Spaniard battled to a painful sixth place after holding off Rizla Suzuki's Loris Capirossi for as long as he could in the race yesterday but crossed the line in agony.

"It’s been a very hard weekend and I finished the race exhausted and in a lot of pain, but I don’t regret being here this weekend trying to do my best. I didn’t want to miss my home race and even though sixth position is not the best result in front of my fans, I’m happy with it," said Pedrosa.

"I could feel their enormous support during the whole weekend and it helpe d me a lot to race. It also wouldn’t have been possible without the doctors’ help: they kept me in the best possible condition to bear the pain. The injections I’ve had on each day worked, but obviously to do 25 laps it’s been very hard.

"The doctors told me that this fracture needs time to heal so I’m going to rest as much as possible and see what the progress is for Assen. The Team asked me not test tomorrow to give me the best chance to recover and it’s a sensible decision.

"I didn’t have a great start today, but I could manage to stay in the second group in the race. I tried to stay with Capirossi, but I couldn’t, so I choose to maintain the sixth position. I’m really tired now, but it was a worthwhile race."