Summary Pedrosa slipped outside the top 10 in morning practice and will be forced to qualify through Q1.
PHILLIP ISLAND (AFP) - Dani Pedrosa s hopes of a podium finish in this weekend s Australian MotoGP have been dented by his relegation into a repecharge qualifying round at Phillip Island on Saturday.
Pedrosa, the Repsol Honda teammate of newly-crowned world champion Marc Marquez, slipped outside the top 10 in morning practice and will be forced to qualify through Q1.
The Spaniard is one of three riders in the mix to finish second overall in the championship behind Marquez, but he has struggled for pace so far this weekend.
Movistar Yamaha contender Jorge Lorenzo was again the quickest ahead of qualifying Saturday with a best lap of one minute 29.157 seconds, putting him almost 0.3s clear at the top from Marquez.
Qualifying for Sunday s MotoGP race is split into two parts, with the top 10 riders from practice progressing to a top 12 shootout.
The rest of the field, including Pedrosa, must compete for the final two positions in the first stage of qualifying or fill the places further down the race grid.
Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Italian Valentino Rossi are separated by just three points in a tight battle to finish second with three races left in the championship.
