Pedrosa came off at high-speed at turn 9 and was fortunate to escape with bruises to his left thumb and middle finger, necessitating the need for painkillers prior to the race.
He had worked his way up to sixth but was shunted back to eighth pace after he was pushed wide at the chicane by Pol Espargaro and Cal Crutchlow.
"It was a bad day. I had a very strange crash in the morning: I was going straight, braking, and the tyres were already up to temperature – but I lost the front without warning," Pedrosa said.
"Unfortunately the bike was damaged, then I took off my glove and saw I had cut my finger but I was still able to return for the race.
"I had to use my second bike and I had a problem with it, because when I released the clutch at the start the bike did not react. I had to release it completely and b egan to slide.
"I went from fourth to 13th and I lost many positions, but in addition I also had a problem with the brakes. I tried to adjust it but I could not control the bike under braking," he added.
"It was very difficult to adapt, but in the end I managed to make up some places. However, I couldn't brake well and on the last lap Crutchlow took me out on the chicane and I lost more positions."
