Dani Pedrosa had one ’12-year-old’ trait that stopped him winning a MotoGP world championship

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Dani Pedrosa is arguably the greatest rider never to win a MotoGP world championship. Pedrosa has won 31 premier-class races, which ranks him inside the overall top 10.

For context, every rider above Pedrosa is a multiple champion. Francesco Bagnaia, directly behind, won the title in 2022 and 2023.

The Spaniard was triumphant in the 125cc class in 2003, and he followed that up with back-to-back 250cc titles. He beat the likes of Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo during that period.

Pedrosa would finish runner-up in the standings in just his second year as a MotoGP rider. But that was as good as it got – he took the silver medal position three times, coming closest in 2012 (when he was just 18 points behind Lorenzo).

Dani Pedrosa’s physical limitations were a ‘huge part’ of his MotoGP title agony

Lorenzo was just 5ft 2in tall, and according to one engineer, his hands were so small that they resembled a ’12-year-old’. This meant the odds were stacked against him on the ferocious MotoGP bikes, as opposed to the tamer machines in the lightweight and intermediate classes.

Indeed, Mat Oxley, a former motorcycle racer who’s now a journalist, says this was a ‘huge part’ of Pedrosa not winning the title. After his 2012 near-miss, Honda signed Marc Marquez as his new teammate, and he was somewhat left behind.

Pedrosa commendably finished in the top six in the championship in each of his first 12 seasons. That streak only ended in 2018, his last full year in the sport.

Despite the disparity in pace, Marquez says Pedrosa is the rider who taught him most. Marquez agrees that, with more ‘height and strength’, his fellow Catalonian would have won multiple titles.

Jorge Lorenzo explains why Dani Pedrosa deserves ‘enormous credit’

Speaking on the Mig Babol podcast, Lorenzo spoke highly of Pedrosa’s riding style. He says it’s ‘crazy’ that he achieved so much success despite his slight build.

In addition to his aforementioned victories, Pedrosa (113) is one of only four podium centurions in the sport’s history. Rossi, Marquez and Lorenzo are the only other riders in this bracket.

• READ MORE: Dani Pedrosa once questioned how FIM stewards were handling Marc Marquez, ‘they have looked the other way’

Lorenzo says his compatriot was fundamentally weak in braking phases because he struggled to transfer his weight, and also more susceptible to injuries. He missed 14 races during his career.

“Pedro’s strong point was the pick-up,” Lorenzo explained. “He was extremely sensitive and clean, so in conditions with precarious grip, for example, he was able to take advantage of his weight, his accelerations.

“He deserves tremendous credit, because no rider weighing 50kg and his height has done what he did in MotoGP. Winning more than 30 races is crazy.

“He was very weak in braking, because his lack of strength and height didn’t help. Braking in a change of direction was a battle.

“And then there were also the injuries. He was so small and his bones were so weak that when he fell, they broke.”