Like an elephant in the middle of a herd of gazelles, Pedrosa walked straight ahead, towards victory, without anyone being able to get in his way. His main opponent was his teammate the extraordinary and phenomenal Marc Marquez, who although thoroughly motivated by the presence of his fans, had to admit defeat in the end and bow to the superiority of Dani.
This doesn't happen to him often, but when it does Pedrosa is unstoppable, " unstoppable » as the English say. Dani took a masterful victory on home soil at the Gran Premio de España, starting from pole position, leading the race from the first corner to the checkered flag and setting the fastest lap of the race to claim his 30th MotoGP victory, the 53rd of his career.
Dani also gave the Repsol Honda team his 100th victory in the MotoGP category, where he also became the only rider to have won at least one race for 16 consecutive years. Dani is now fourth in the championship, with 52 points. He thus relaunches himself in the title race behind Valentino Rossi and his 62 points, Maverick Vinales and his 60, without forgetting Marc Marquez who finished in a brilliant second place after chasing his teammate for 27 laps.
It is also the value of Marquez's attack in Jerez which makes Pedrosa's victory all the more admirable. Reigning world champion Marc Marquez is now third in the standings with 58 points, just four behind leader Rossi.
For Dani Pedrosa, “ I'm super happy with this victory in Jerez, a track that I love very much and in front of my family, my friends and all these amazing fans. I appreciate this emotion immensely, more than I would have done a few years ago, in a more conscious way.
“I had a good feeling throughout the weekend, and the team worked well. We are improving race after race and I am very happy for them too. We knew we were capable of achieving the race we did. I felt the tension a little before the start, but I stayed focused.
“Today the track conditions were a little worse than yesterday and the front was sliding a lot. I chose the hard front due to today's high temperature, although the medium was my favorite. The pace probably would have been faster with the medium, but either way, I was happy with my choice.
“When Marc started to attack, we engaged in a little battle like yesterday during qualifying. I knew he was very fast, but I was determined to keep a gap on him. It was easy to make a mistake, to lose the lead, so it was about staying on the limit without going over the edge.
“It went well, it was a wonderful weekend, and now we have to continue at this level. It is also an extraordinary honor to be the winner of the 3th Grand Prix race and to be alongside drivers like Mick (Doohan, who won race number 000) and Angel (Nieto, who won race number 2). »
Ranking
1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 26.827s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 32.963s
3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 41.594s
4. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 45m 44.428s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 49.740s
6. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 45m 51.383s
7. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 51.786s
8. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 45m 54.548s
9. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 45m 58.060s
10. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 46m 5.509s
11. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 46m 7.806s
12. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 46m 10.026s
13. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 10.038s
14. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 46m 14.791s
15. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 18.106s
16. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 46m 35.712s
17. Takuya Tsuda JPN Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 46m 54.277s
