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Honda Confirms Pedrosa and Dovizioso for 2010

Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso may not have won the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini on Sunday but they sure ended the weekend on a high note, as both have signed extensions to their Honda agreements. The rumors about the Japanese manufacturer targeting Jorge Lorenzo for 2010 are now over, as the Repsol-backed team will continue to field Pedrosa and Dovi for at least the upcoming season.

Although both riders have signed one-year extensions to their current deals, only Dovizioso's agreement has an option to further extend it until the end of 2011. Following this announcement, it is now official that Pedrosa will compete for a 5th consecutive season for Honda.

This new agreement with HRC is great news for me and I’m very pleased to be staying with the team that I’ve ridden for since 2006. We have now established an effective way of working and I’m confident that we can become even more competitive in the future. The target has always been to win the World Championship and that of course stays the same,” said Pedrosa in a press release.

I’m very happy to be continuing with HRC in the factory Honda team. The experience of being involved with such a prestigious team has been very important for me and, as soon as we began discussing the future, my target was to continue with Honda. My first year as a factory rider has taught me a lot. I’m confident that with the direction we’ve agreed for machine development we can reach a level where we are fighting for victory every Sunday,” added Dovizioso.

Pedrosa is currently 3rd overall in the Riders Classification, 80 points behind championship leader Valentino Rossi, while Dovizioso rests in 5th place overall. Both riders have recorded one win apiece in the current MotoGP season.

Honda's announcement comes only a few days away after Ducati also confirmed its lineup for 2010. As their Japanese rivals, Ducati will keep the same two riders for the upcoming season, as Nicky Hayden has agreed to a one-year extension of his deal.
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