Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa made a steady start to this weekend's San Marino Grand Prix, ending the first day of practice 11th and 12th fastest.

Hayden is making his return following a foot injury sustained in a Supermoto incident at the Los Angeles X Games on August 1.

The American cracked two bones in his right heel and is still walking with the aid of a walking stick or crutches because the less weight he puts on the foot, the quicker the bones will heal. Foot injuries are a significant handicap for bike racers, because they pressure the footrests to steer the motorcycle.

Pedrosa is working to regain his normal rhythm following the injuries he suffered at July's German Grand Prix and his difficult Czech Grand Prix two weeks ago. The Spaniard is confident he can improve his pace tomorrow as he continues to rebuild confidence aboard his Repsol Honda RC212V.

Nicky Hayden
“Things went pretty decent, considering. Not fantastic or nothing, but the bike was working pretty good, the tyres were working a lot better than they have the last couple of weeks, so a big thanks to Michelin for doing a good job here. It's not the most pleasant ride of my life, but I expected that. In some of the right-hand corners I'm probably not as quick as I should be, but in T2 and T4 which are pretty much all left-hand corners I'm one of the quickest. In some of the rights the injury is a little bit of a hindrance, but it's not a big deal. I don't want to be a drama queen and make a big deal of it, I'm not the first guy who's ridden injured. It's just the way it is and the main thing is that it's good to be back. I crashed in the last left, it was an easy little crash, I just held my foot up so it didn't touch the ground. I was pushing hard, it was my best lap so far, I just hit a bump and lost the front. I've been pushing the front a bit most of the day, so I wasn't really shocked by it.”

Dani Pedrosa
“It's been a difficult but important day. We're not happy with the result but I am happy because we are working to get me back into my rhythm which I had lost after missing Laguna, doing no real training in the summer break and then having lots of problems at Brno. We had a long debrief at the end of today, analysing all the data, and for sure we can improve our lap times tomorrow. Conditions here are quite extreme, it's very hot. We have been testing some new tyres and we still have more to test tomorrow, when we will see what kind of shape we'll be in for the race. We will keep working hard. Qualifying will be extra important because the first corner is so close to the grid and tricky too. Last year another rider took me out at the first corner and I want to avoid any problems there on Sunday, so I want to get the best grid position possible. I am feeling positive that I can regain my usual rhythm.”

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