Dani Pedrosa Ramal (Castellar del Vallés, 38 years old) was the great sensation of the Spanish GP last year, and this weekend he will repeat his participation as a guest, thanks to his role as a KTM test rider. The MotoGP legend, three-time world champion in the small categories, three-time runner-up in the premier class, has been retired from top competition since 2018, although his double World Cup incursion last year made it clear that he is still in top form. His sixth place in the 2023 grand prix, followed by fourth place in Misano, left the fans and the paddock amazed.
“Mainly, what moves me is excellence, I don’t like doing things wrong,” Dani Pedrosa explains to EL PAÍS about his new return to the ring. “I give everything I have inside me, and not only in this grand prix or the ones I did last year, where there are times when things go better or worse. I always give 100%, the team is very involved, and the tests we do are done well,” he emphasizes about his goal, which inevitably excites the fans. He is the third driver who has won the most races in Jerez (four) throughout history, and the second with the most podiums (11). In 298 grand prix contests throughout his career, the Catalan has been on the podium more than half of the time (153), with a total of 54 World Cup victories.
“My mission is to help, to contribute my grain of sand, that’s what I want,” he insists. “Then, obviously, there is the factor that you give people the opportunity to have a good time, and I have few of these opportunities left, so you have to take advantage of them,” she emphasizes. What is a gift for the public, for him is another task within his mission, although he seems more loose than ever. “People come into the world with a mission and, throughout life, one has to find what their mission is and how to progress in it. We do not come learned, and we will never be perfect, but one must realize their limitations or shortcomings and polish themselves as the years go by,” he reflects.
Since 2019, Pedrosa has not stopped working overtime on the development of the KTM RC16 together with the Austrian brand’s powerful testing team. The definitive objective, like that of any factory in the category, is to develop the world champion motorcycle. It is not an easy path, although you have already crossed out all the steps prior to the definitive milestone: poles podiums, victories, the prototype has achieved everything except the title.
The arrival of Pedro Acosta, the sensation at this start of the championship at 19 years old, seems to have aligned the best version of the alpine machine with a talent destined to make history. The rookie of the group has benefited from Pedrosa’s advice – also from Pol Espargaró – in his brilliant adaptation to the premier category. “There is history inside his head, it is not like talking to anyone,” highlights the Murcian phenomenon. “I will certainly try to follow him, because I have much more to learn from him than he does from me,” he adds after hearing that the veteran may try to follow him, given the two podiums he has accumulated in his first three races in the elite of motorcycling. .
Another legend, Jorge Lorenzo, has reiterated these days that Acosta can win as soon as this event. “From what we have seen in his progression, it is not impossible,” Pedrosa acknowledges about his teammate at GasGas. Regarding his own options, and although he was sixth last year and barely missed the podium at the San Marino GP, the Catalan is once again starting the weekend with a low profile. “Hopefully we can live up to it,” smiles the man from Castellar. “We have an identical approach, trying to enjoy it as much as possible and draw all the conclusions we can. These are things that we have already been testing and we want to verify in a race format. If they go well, they could be things for the factory drivers to test in Monday’s test, things that could help,” he concludes.
In the past, KTM’s top management had already notably praised Pedrosa’s role within its structure. “We are delighted to have a pilot like him, who brings so much experience to our project. He keeps his passion intact and always wanted a job that demanded the most from him,” said Pit Beirer, owner of the group. Jack Miller, one of the brand’s official drivers, defined him as one of the “best test drivers in history.”
“I feel good, and it’s not that I felt bad before, but people’s response is very nice,” Pedrosa celebrates, smiling, the tension of yesteryear kept in a locked drawer. He samurai has even revolutionized paddock after accepting Lorenzo’s challenge to compete in an evening of boxing between old enemies. “After my retirement I can reflect, mature things, and I’m trying to apply myself to it,” he says about this openness to the world.
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