What is Pedrosa waiting for?

Pedrosa, a Honda rider ever since his 2001 125GP debut, was expected to re-sign several months ago - but a deal is still to be announced.

With the 2008 factory seats at Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Ducati now occupied, any slim chance that the 21-year-old former 125 and 250cc world champion might change brands has passed - leaving Pedrosa with little leverage in whatever he is holding out for from HRC.

The most obvious sticking points are money and tyres, with the latter rumoured to be behind Pedrosa's refusal to sign on the dotted line - as he seeks to persuade Honda to jump ship from Michelin to tyre manufacturer of the moment Bridgestone.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, but the most obvious location for a new Pedrosa deal is Honda's home Japanese Grand Prix on September 23.

If a deal isn't done at Motegi, then Pedrosa - the only Honda rider to win a race this year - and HRC really do have a problem...

Crash.n! et