Dani Pedrosa has therefore no longer been in the MotoGP paddock since the end of a Valencia Grand Prix which rounded off the 2018 season. But he is still in people's minds and, in 2019, he will make a name for himself by testing for the factory KTM. A situation which does not escape the dark Alberto Puig with his still cold assessments. And frank!
Alberto puig may have been the person closest to Dani Pedrosa during his career. They grew up together, won in 125cc and twice in 250cc. He then led his team in MotoGP from 2006 until the end of 2013, when their paths parted. The HRC then decided to appoint the former driver as the new director of its official team. En lieu and in place of Livio Suppo. Later, the Catalan announced his desire to retire. In an interview with Marca media relayed by Tutomotoriweb, he takes stock of the career of his former protégé:
An uncompromising inventory, just like the character… “ these are the numbers in a prize list which define a driver who, in the premier category, did not obtain the title. It's true. In life you can't always get what you want. But that doesn't mean what you did wasn't right or not enough ».
« I think he was one of the privileged ones. He was fortunate to have been supported for a long time and to have taken advantage of this opportunity for many years. In recent seasons, it's true that I wasn't that close to him anymore and I can't analyze how that happened. It's true that he's had different periods lately, but I don't live with him. I keep the good thing of having lived with him, with the number of titles he won, with the victories obtained and from there… If everyone in life could get what they wanted, we would be all happy. It is also true that he faced drivers who were better than him at one point ».
Dani Pedrosa was never really capable of winning the MotoGP world title, even though he was runner-up in 2010 and 2012. On this situation, Puig specifies: “ I think he had the opportunity, he had a lot of opportunities. I believe he can consider himself proud and privileged. That's what I think. There have been a lot of drivers who don't have many opportunities. He had his good times and his bad times, like everyone else, but I can't say more ».
However, there is something that doesn't sit well with the head of HRC... He doesn't like the fact that "Titanium" chose to be a test pilot for another brand instead of the one that owned him. hosted during its 18 seasons in the premier category: “ that's another problem, at the official Honda level I can say that we made an offer for him to stay at Honda as a test rider and he refused it. He chose what he thought was best. After so many years at Honda, I would have stayed at Honda. But it's a very personal problem ».
