Dani Pedrosa and his performance in Misano continue to make people talk in the cottages and this time it is Michelin who is getting involved. The opinion of the sole MotoGP manufacturer is authoritative, since the Bibendum engineers can, by studying the wear of the rubbers and by reviewing the comments of all the riders, evaluate the style of each of them, if not to say the level …And during this expertise, it is the KTM test rider who wins all the votes. It is even the big boss Piero Taramasso who echoes this.
Public chat Moto sprint, the Michelin man on the Grands Prix that is Piero Taramasso was not the last to cover Dani Pedrosa of praise the day after San Marino Grand Prix. That being said, this performance which has cast doubt on the new young generation in the category, is not a real surprise for the person responsible for the Auvergne coat of arms competition. He comments: “ I met Dani in 2016, when he was an official driver, and then found him in the role of tester. Since then and until today, he retained above-average piloting ability. It's a natural gift ».
Piero Taramasso: “ Dani Pedrosa had a fantastic weekend, in which he was very strong in all situations »
On his last performance on the RC16, he adds: “ the conditions he faced were different compared to others. He had a free spirit in Misano, but it is also true thatil knows the RC16 well ". However : " he never uses the soft tire, while his rivals always do. It's not easy to use if you're not used to it. But Dani launched a Time Attack like a holder ". And Taramasso concludes: “ Pedrosa has just had a fantastic weekend, during which he was very strong in all situations ».
Then he concludes with these words which will certainly resonate in the corridors of Honda, a brand which has let go the one which had served it for 18 years: “ the testing team is not only important, it is fundamental both for the owning team and for the company, as it is for us ».
Because times have changed: the testing team helps us a lot in terms of development, because we do more evaluations. Before, we tested tires and frames, and that's it. Now it's more complicated: executives, of course. But also the electronics, the aerodynamics, the lowering systems, the fenders… And the tires, rightly so.. So today a tester like Pedrosa makes the difference in the package calculation ". CQFD.
