Dani Pedrosa will be one of the attractions of this weekend's Styrian Grand Prix as, for the first time since his retirement from competition in 2018, he will rediscover the joys of being a real competitor in a MotoGP meeting. A prospect that he had always ruled out since his arrival at KTM as a test rider. But things have apparently changed. Until what point ? The paddock is starting to get excited about this return. Perhaps even a little too much for KTM which has decided to calm things down a little…
To understand the impact of this return of Dani Pedrosa to the competition, even for a single Grand Prix which is that of this weekend in Styria, we must refer to the comment of a certain Alex Criville relayed by Motosan : " Dani Pedrosa is in good shape and has covered many kilometers as a tester with the KTM. If you have accepted the challenge of participating as a wildcard, you are ready to do it very well. He races at KTM, where Miguel Oliveira won last season, and he is ready to aspire to a lot. Everything will depend a little on the fact that you make this “click” during the Grand Prix to fight with the best. We could see Pedrosa in the leading group and fighting to be on the podium ».
Downright ! An assessment that KTM wants to undermine. “ He certainly won't want to prove who he is. He won't do it 100%. This is not the goal either », explains thus Mike leitner, who knows well Pedrosa since many years. “ He ended his career. The commitment is part of the testing program. He will try to do fast laps. It's clear. But he won't risk his head and his legs ».
« When you haven't run for so long, you can't tell yourself that you're going to be on top immediately. », insists the same Mike Leitner, who was notably the Spaniard's engineer at Repsol Honda. “ If Dani thinks he no longer needs to risk the first corner and doesn't want to ride at Misano, that's not a problem for us at all. If he tells Spielberg that he's having so much fun that he'd also like to drive at Misano, then we're happy too ».
KTM: “We told him to just enjoy the weekend”
Misano is cited because he already has a wildcard. However, he may very well not honor it: “ one should not overestimate whether he drives or not. This is part of our overall structure. Dani is very important to us, whether he drives or not ", Explain Pit Beirer. " It was secondary for us that he made a wild card. Of course, it's better if it's in Spielberg and not Misano first. We would have ridden to Misano if the bike had not been finished ».
Exactly, what will his RC16 be? “ It's 85% the same bike as Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder, Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona. We changed a few things on Dani's bike. There was a small change in the chassis. We're trying out some new features with the suspension elements. There are details that don't stand out. It is important to recognize the differences over a race distance ", Explain Mike leitner who adds: “ the engine is pretty much the same ».
« The starting device is new to him », also notes Mike leitner on Motorsport. " He didn't use this in his time. It is experience that he will acquire on the ground. This will help him during the test to see what he did well and what he did not do. We have absolutely no expectations. We told him to just enjoy the weekend ».
