Tokyo: Spain's Dani Pedrosa broke his collarbone after crashing his Honda in Friday's practice for the weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
His injury looks like effectively handing countryman Jorge Lorenzo the MotoGP title with Pedrosa the only man in a position to overtake the Yamaha rider in the standings.
Pedrosa, who trails Lorenzo by 56 points with five races remaining this season, suffered a multiple fracture of his left collarbone after just six minutes on the track at Motegi.
He is likely to miss the next three races which take place over the next three weekends.
Italian Valentino Rossi set the quickest lap in the first free practice for Sunday's race.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, October 01, 2010, 14:18