Impossible, totally impossible, to do better. if your name is Dani Pedrosaif you have 37 years, if you haven’t raced for five years, if you were one of the greatest, even if your physique was tiny (this is precisely what increases your greatness!), if you have raced 297 grand prix, won 54, stood on the podium 153 times, have conquered 49 ‘poles’, you have, of course, three world titles (125cc, 2003 and 250cc, 2004 and 2005) and, in addition, you have touched the MotoGP world title on three occasions (2007, 2010 and 2012) and the mark that He has hired you as a test pilot, he asks you to run ‘sack’ again, really, in series, among this pack of wolves, you must make a very risky decision. Not only in the physical, no, but also in the personal and sporting: come on, you risk it.
And Pedrosa, one of the most intelligent riders of the last decades, pure wisdom and technique on the bike, accepted the risk, well, the challenge and, not only that, but before the end of his first Grand Prix in five years (today’s race, the complete GP of 25 laps, already – hardly – counts), he has already become the great winner of the weekend, with tens of thousands of fans at the Nieto and Peluqui curves chanting his name, achieving the fastest lap in the race, a position on the second row of the grid, sixth in the race and having led the first practice session on Friday. I told you: better, impossible.
everything more aggressive
“I am very, very, very happy with everything. It wasn’t easy, but everyone at KTM was very excited and they encouraged me to try,” Pedrosa told El Periódico. “When I was fighting with Miguel (Oliveira) for fifth or sixth place, but I saw Brad (Binder, winner) and Jack (Miller, third) fighting for the victory nearby, I felt a certain tingle of satisfaction and pride, because that is the bike I work on to make it better in each race.”
Pedros acknowledged that the work he does in training, in tests, with the real races has nothing to do with it. “Here there are two or three circumstances that increase everything, not only the difficulty and the risk, but also your ability to ride the bike to the fullest. The first thing that has surprised me is that everything, when you are inside the peloton, is much more tremendous, vibrant, aggressive, very aggressive, than when you see it and analyze it from the outside”.
“From behind, fighting for fourth place, I really enjoyed watching Binder and Miller look for victory with the bike that I am trying to improve”
Dani Pedrosa / Three-time world champion and KTM test rider
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“In the race, now, and more so in these ‘sprint’ tests”, continues Pedrosa, “you would need eyes in the neck, but pilots appear everywhere! And, third, as the laps go by, the tank goes down “The tires wear out and, above all, if you’re close to another rider, the bike’s behavior changes at each corner. It’s not easy, no,” added Pedrosa with a broad smile on his lips.
Someone has asked him if he sees himself on the podium today. “Please, those are big words & rdquor ;. If he will accept, as KTM wants, repeat the experience in Misano (September 10). “Ugh, let’s go little by little: training on Friday, second row on Saturday, sixth in the ‘sprint’…. tomorrow (for today), race and, on Monday, test. Then I rest and think about it.”