Honda has withdrawn all of its factory and supported bikes from the second Sepang MotoGP test on safety grounds until an electronics issue highlighted by Repsol man Dani Pedrosa can be solved and the Spaniard's engine has been sent back to Japan for analysis.
The Spaniard came into the pits yesterday with a dash warning and HRC technicians are still working to get to the bottom of it but expect to be back on track tomorrow. Pedrosa said yesterday: "On my last run, I had a small issue, I saw a red light on the dashboard, so I took the clutch and stopped. We have to analyse now what it was."
In any event, not a huge amount of dry track time has been lost to either of the works riders, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl as it has been pissing down since lunchtime and looks like it is not clearing off any time soon.
A team spokesman said: "Due to an engine failure on Dani Pedrosa's RC213V machine yesterday, HRC sent the engine to Japan for analysis. The feedback after the investigation was positive; however it arrived after lunch when the Sepang circuit was drenched by heavy rain, so unfortunately the Repsol Honda riders were unable to take to the track. Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa will be back on track tomorrow and resume their testing program."
