Dani Pedrosa has made good the saying that “old rockers never die.” If he already pleasantly surprised at the end of April in Jerez (sixth on the grid, sixth in the sprint and seventh in the race), marveled at Misano this past weekend, fighting for the podium with Pecco Bagnaia in the mini-test on Saturday and also in the race on Sunday. A surprising performance considering that he has been retired for more than five years, without competing, and that every time he gets on a motorcycle he does so as a KTM tester.
«What I believe is that He should have thought twice about retiring», confirmed Alberto Puig, the driver’s former manager and current Repsol-Honda Team Manager. «Nothing surprises us, because Dani has always gone very fast. He has the quality. More than anything, I believe that KTM has done a big stepbut what is also evident is that he has made the situation clear: the previous riders are still very good and he has shown it, not only because of the bike, but also because of his quality,” Puig pointed out.
Montmeló and Misano enjoyed watching the little samurai sliding through the circuits of Catalonia and San Marino as a guest driver. The Catalan, three-time world champion (once in 125 and twice in 250) and runner-up three times in MotoGP, has always worn that logo on his suit, partly because he is in love with the sport. Japanese culturethe country from which Honda comes, where he has developed his entire career, and also because of the values that the ancient Japanese warrior exudes.
Only one point less than Márquez
Pedrosa’s performance this past weekend even gains more value when compared to the official KTM riders and the GasGas Factory Racing Team, satellite of the Austrian factory. Brad Binder y Jack Miller They fell to the ground in the race, Pol Espargaro suffered five falls over the weekend and Augusto Fernandez He didn’t enter the points. The potential that Castellar del Vallés still retains and Honda’s problems are reflected in the overall World Championship, where Pedrosa accumulates 31 points in two races, one less than Marc Márquez in nine Grand Prix.
«It is admirable that a test driver, who is not competing every week, achieves those times and that pace in the race. Its quality is beastly. Nothing new, but it is surprising that given the very high level in MotoGP, he achieved such wonderful results. It deserves a special mention, and two and three,” he praises Alex Crivilleworld champion in 500 cc.
The little samurai had a great time in Misano, but without forgetting that their mission was to collect data and observe the World Cup champion and leader, Pecco Bagnaia. However, Pedrosa rules out competing again this season. «It’s nice to come back, compete and perform well, but It’s not something I miss very, very much either.», he explained. Yesterday he was at the Misano test, a place to test next year’s prototypes and where Marc Márquez showed few changes to his Honda for next year, which could cause him to leave for Ducati.
2023-09-12 02:15:18
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