The winter break is taking its course in MotoGP and yet it is not entirely calm. Thus, we wonder about the handlebars of Andrea Iannone at Aprilia whose fate will be clarified tomorrow, January 7, with the analysis of the second sample to clarify the analysis of the first having mentioned a case of doping. Max Biaggi is racing at Sepang with a Noale bike, you never know... Meanwhile Jorge Lorenzo is getting back into shape with a view to a possible position as a tester for Yamaha. And Dani Pedrosa, wouldn't he also be tempted to make the news by putting his work at KTM to the test, during a Spanish Grand Prix which takes place on a Jerez track that he loves? The brand's sports man, Pit Beirer, answers…
Will 2020 also be the year of surprises? We don't know yet, but the news is buzzing in this winter period with rumors concerning the return to intense activity of retirees. For the case of Dani Pedrosa, it's already the case. From his contract as holder Honda completed, he embarked on his work of development for KTM. However, with one caveat: never repeat a Grand Prix. A deal that had been respected so far, but now the idea of an appearance at the Spanish Grand Prix is emerging…
To understand the reason, we must remember what Jerez is for Dani Pedrosa : he won this Grand Prix in Andalusia in 2008, 2013 and 2017 during his 13-year MotoGP career with Repsol–Honda, plus five second and two third places. If there is therefore a track where he could return with pleasure, it is Jerez which has also dedicated one of its turns to him…
Now, is this idea really worth considering? Pete Beirer responds on Speedweek: “ so far Dani has shown no interest in participating in a race », Explains the sports manager at Mattighofen. “ But I have long removed the word "impossible" from my vocabulary. » And he adds: “ I can't look inside Dani. But so far this is absolutely no problem for us. We have a very clear agreement: Dani Pedrosa will not and should not race for us. As a test pilot he is currently too valuable for us. Such a race would be a huge story emotionally. But this will not help us in the long term with our MotoGP project. »
Pete Beirer finished : " Dani is so well-knit with our engineering team and our testing team. When he's with the team, you'd mistake him for one of the engineers. On the track outside, he is the driver again. With our test team, a very good team has emerged. He always talks about the KTM development team as if he's never worked anywhere else before. It's nice to see. »
