Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin has raved about semi-retired MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa after following him during a recent test.
Pedrosa quit full-time racing at the end of the 2018 season but remains active as a test rider for KTM. He has been involved in the development of their 850cc bike for next year alongside his work on the current RC16.
A three-time world champion in the lower classes, Pedrosa is regarded as one of the greatest riders never to win a MotoGP title. He finished runner-up three times during his career, once to Casey Stoner and twice to fierce rival Jorge Lorenzo.
Jorge Martin loved following Dani Pedrosa at Jerez test
As part of his punditry duties for DAZN, Pedrosa interviewed Martin after the Aprilia rider’s victory at the French Grand Prix last weekend.
2024 world champion Martin revealed that he deliberately tailed Pedrosa during the Jerez test last month to study his ‘amazing’ riding style.
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“I have to say that in Jerez I did five or six laps behind him just enjoying it, because Dani is amazing to follow,” he said. “I had to go to the pits because I ran out of fuel.”
Pedrosa ranked 20th out of 23 riders during the test, though he did outpace Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alex Rins on the underpowered Yamaha bike. The former Honda rider was around 1.5 seconds off the benchmark set by Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura.
It should be noted that the lap times aren’t entirely representative given the experimental nature of the session, but this was still a commendable effort.
Why doesn’t Dani Pedrosa ride for KTM as a wildcard?
With Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales out through injury, some have questioned why Pedrosa hasn’t been called up for another race weekend.
After all, he bagged a brilliant podium finish in the Sprint on his last wildcard appearance at the 2024 Spanish GP.
However, KTM have reduced Pedrosa’s pay over the years, so he’s less inclined to accept the risks involved in a fully-fledged entry.
More generally, Pedrosa feels his time has passed after reaching 221 starts in the premier class.
Jonas Folger replaced Vinales at the French GP, with fellow KTM test rider Pol Espargaro out injured.
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