MotoGP Jerez J1, Dani Pedrosa (KTM/14) far from last year: “the bike was destroyed”

Highly visible at Jerez as a wild card barely a year ago, Dani Pedrosa returns to Andalusia. On the KTM RC16, he is looking to develop new parts – including a new wing on the front mudguard, but also to surpass himself and try to achieve a good result. However, it started very badly, with a violent fall during Practice, and a 14th place finish synonymous with Q1. The Austrians this weekend are not at their best.

It is a mixed Dani Pedrosa that we find at the end of this first day in Jerez. “The morning was enriching, I felt good” affirmed the Spaniard on the microphones of speedweek. What followed was much less so. “But in the afternoon, I had big problems with one of the bikes, I felt a lot worse. When I decided to return to the first bike, I crashed at turn 2. Maybe I risked too much, and the tires weren't ready yet, he said, before adding which the motorcycle was destroyed." Not the best possible start, but that's not the worst; only Pedro Acosta, again, qualified directly for Q2 in the KTM clan. Brad Binder, too, made a mistake.

A bad fall which ruins not only his weekend, but KTM's testing program. « Here, it's 50/50: I test, but I also want to achieve good results. We have a base established in the last tests, but we also have to test things. Unfortunately, because one bike did not work as expected, we were unable to continue this program." he confided.

Photo: Michelin Motorsport

This is the first time that a MotoGP mudguard has been used as a wing, apart from the exterior appendages of the Honda RC213V, for example. Clearly, this addition did not go unnoticed. But what does he think? « This gives more downforce in front everywhere; I do fewer wheelies, for example. But that doesn't change the situation in the turns. Compared to the last tests, we notice that there is more grip on the track, and therefore we are faster” he concluded.

Can he, like last year, create a surprise? Tell us in the comments!

Practice result at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport