On any given weekend, Brad Binder’s victory and Jack Miller’s third-place finish in the race to sprint of the MotoGP Spanish GP would have been described as a magnificent result for the KTMs. And to something else. However, the presence a few places behind Dani Pedrosa, a tester for the Austrian brand, underlines the importance of the Spanish motorcycling legend as developer of the Mattighofen machine. “It’s been fun. Seeing the KTMs there in front and then crossing the finish line and having three in the first six positions is very satisfying for me”, celebrated the rider from Castellar del Vallés.
It had been two years since the samurai had competed in MotoGP, and after astonishing him on Friday by finishing third and leading the first practice sessions in Jerez, on Saturday he confirmed that at 37 his speed and talent remain intact. Sixth in the classification and in the race to the sprint –just 1.7 seconds behind the winner, the fastest lap in the race for him– after a crazy day, Pedrosa was cheered by the fans at the Ángel Nieto circuit. He was also feted and applauded by his team, aware that his role behind the scenes has catapulted the potential of his mounts. “Many thanks to the team, to the testers and to Dani in particular, who got us the perfect technical package here,” Binder, the winner, commented to the DAZN microphones.
“We have one of the best test drivers in history. It has been a magnificent job by the whole team”, Miller celebrated at the foot of the track for the international signal. Pedrosa has won four times and has accumulated 11 podiums in this setting, and two weeks ago he was preparing the test in a private test that allowed him to fine-tune the KTMs for these days. Although he had never experienced a weekend under the new format at sprint, which reduces training time and adds stress to the already demanding days of the riders, the man from Castellar showed that he has not lost an iota of instinct on the bike. “Second row is a good result, but maybe I could have done better”, he admitted. This Sunday (3:00 p.m., DAZN), he will start sixth with his ambition through the roof, with Aleix Espargaró’s Aprilia, which crashed in the sprintin the pole position.
Pedrosa began collaborating with the Austrian factory in June 2019. A year after his arrival, in the fourth round of the 2020 World Championship, Binder signed the first MotoGP victory for KTM. The project, which started in 2017, had not yet achieved good results beyond a podium finish by Pol Espargaró in the last test of 2018, but the arrival of the three-time world champion revolutionized the test team. “We are delighted to have a driver like him, who brings so much experience to our project,” said the brand’s sports director, Pit Beirer. “For a pilot it is important to feel that he is really needed, that he is not going to be just a marketing figure. He keeps the passion intact, and he wanted a job that demanded the most from him”, he added.
Pedrosa had several options on the table after his retirement in 2018. He was close to moving away from the circuits permanently, but then he felt the butterflies again when he saw that the interest he aroused in the ‘paddock’ was still high. He had on the table to be part of the Yamaha satellite team, but finally he chose to stay more in the shade and sign as a KTM tester. “From the beginning I saw that there was a lot of room to improve and close the gap. We have worked very hard since I arrived, and I am satisfied with the results of the last few seasons”, assessed the Catalan during the 2021 Styrian GP, the day he contested his first official race with a motorcycle other than Honda. “It is interesting to see his commitment and see that they still want more,” he added after signing a tenth position that was already quite a surprise.
Since entering the project, KTM has achieved five victories and 15 podiums, and in the box they have even given it a new nickname. “Dani is the senator,” says Francesco Guidotti, team manager. Pedrosa brings seniority and also acts as an illustrious adviser to full-time pilots. “Having him in the garage is a dream. When I have a problem, I go to him, we talk and I listen to him. His opinion is very important, and when he gives me advice it is magnificent, because then I always improve ”, pointed out Raúl Fernández, debuting last year as a member of the KTM satellite team, now with Aprilia. Pedrosa’s role as mentor even translates to the brand’s test team, which aims to imbibe Jonas Folger, 29, with all his wisdom before he hangs up his helmet and gloves for good.
The FIM announces a Women’s World Cup
The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) and Dorna announced on Saturday the creation of a new Women’s Speed World Championship. It will be a contest that will start in 2024 with six tests in Europe and frames from a single manufacturer. It will run parallel to the World Superbike (WSBK). “We have given many thought to this matter, and as we already do in motocross, enduro and trial, we are going to start a championship for women in circuit competition”, detailed Jorge Viegas, president of the FIM. “It is a championship in which we want women to be professionals, like in MotoGP. It is not promotional, it is not a step to something else. It’s final. We want the women who run here, live from it, be professionals, ”he added.
Motorcycling, under its traditional channels, already has a world champion in Ana Carrasco, who made history by winning the Supersport 300 World Championship in 2018 and is now part of the Moto3 grid. The idea of all the actors is to increase the participation of women in the competition. “It is a living project. We want to increase the percentage of riders we have and from there we’ll see where we end up”, assured Gregorio Lavilla, head of the WSBK.
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