Marco Bezzecchi
Dani Pedrosa should have been the MotoGP champion in 2013, when he lost out to Marc Marquez. That’s according to Valentino Rossi.
A three-time champion in the lower classes, Pedrosa finished in the top three of the MotoGP standings on six separate occasions without completing the set. He was runner-up three times – 2007, 2010 and 2012.
The Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the greatest riders without a championship to his name. Indeed, he is the only member of MotoGP’s Hall of Fame who hasn’t won the title, having met the requirement of at least 24 victories.
Valentino Rossi says Dani Pedrosa ‘deserved’ to win the MotoGP title
During a dinner with his fellow Hall of Fame members, filmed for MotoGP’s YouTube channel, Pedrosa picked up a gold medal that was lying on the table.
“This is the medal I miss,” he said.
And Rossi replied: “You deserved to have one.”
Jorge Lorenzo comfortably beat Pedrosa in 2010, but the gap was 56 points when the latter was injured in Japan and grew to 138 by the end of the season as he missed three straight races.
In 2013, when fighting Lorenzo and Marquez, Pedrosa suffered another costly injury, this time missing the German GP after crashing during a wet practice. He had carried a nine-point championship lead into that weekend.
Who is the greatest rider never to win a MotoGP title?
The only other race where Pedrosa failed to score was Aragon. Contact with Marquez broke his traction control and led to a highside.
“There was a moment in 2010 when you got injured in Motegi,” Rossi told Pedrosa. “The throttle got stuck open. That was a good opportunity too.
“When was the moment that Marquez broke your traction control? 2013? You should have won that year.”
Pedrosa replied: “I injured my collarbone just before that at the Sachsenring. I was leading the championship with a big advantage, and the race after, I crashed.”
The Honda rider ultimately finished third in the standings, 34 points behind rookie champion Marc Marquez.
The real reason Dani Pedrosa never won a MotoGP title
Beyond specific crashes or incidents, Pedrosa was hampered by physical limitations at the highest level. Many experts feel he was too small to truly tame the aggressive MotoGP bikes.
Aleix Espargaro says Pedrosa was ‘impossible’ to catch on the straights because he was so light. On the other hand, heavier riders find it easier to warm up the tyres in wet conditions, and the #26 occasionally struggled in the rain.
Perhaps he arrived in the sport at the wrong time, too. Sylvain Guintoli says Pedrosa would be ‘perfect’ for the current bikes, but he had to face the ‘fantastic five’ during his prime.
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