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MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa returns for Austrian Grand Prix
05/08/2021
VETERAN MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa is back on a bike and will be racing against his old friends at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday (August 8), three years after he retired from the sport.
Barcelona-born Dani's last full season was 2018, after which he announced he was hanging up his helmet now that 'age and injury' were starting to take their toll.
He has never been MotoGP world champion, but has 31 race wins under his belt.
Since leaving the coalface of motorsport, Pedrosa has been working as test-rider for team KTM, helping it to develop its new RC16.
He has been offered a 'wildcard', or one-off invite, to ride the RC16 in a race – confirming paddock gossip that the Spaniard would be back for 'one last dance'.
“It's been a long time since my last race and, of course, the mentality for riding in a Grand Prix is different from that of test-riding,” Pedrosa, 35, admits.
“My aim for the Austrian Grand Prix is to trial the features of the new bike in a race situation.
“Watching from home, I've been able to see improvements and new developments in bikes and races, but to be able to understand how MotoGP is nowadays, its new technologies and how to compete and what strategies to use against the others, this wildcard appearance will be crucial.”
Pedrosa's last race was the Valencia Grand Prix in 2018, which is held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste, to the west of the city, and is always the last of the season.
He came fifth, missing out on the podium.
Before his retirement from the sport, Pedrosa competed in 13 seasons, ending up in the top five in the world championship rankings 11 times, and being named reserve champion three times.
His long-term intention had been to keep riding at least until he netted the coveted championship, but with the rest of the field left standing during his final six seasons by the unstoppable Marc Márquez, Pedrosa's heyday appeared to be over – especially with a history of injuries that were beginning to make themselves felt all at once.
As for his chances on the new RC16 at the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Grand Prix, Pedrosa is not expecting to win, but merely to find out how the bike performs in a real-life scenario.
“It's hard to talk about my expectations after so long away from competition,” Dani confesses.
“Maybe I'll just slot straight back into race mentality, or maybe I won't, but we'll try to enjoy the weekend as much as we can.”
He has no plans to return to race-riding full-time, focusing on bike development and test-riding for KTM instead and purely planning to treat the weekend's Grand Prix as a bit of fun.
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VETERAN MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa is back on a bike and will be racing against his old friends at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday (August 8), three years after he retired from the sport.
Barcelona-born Dani's last full season was 2018, after which he announced he was hanging up his helmet now that 'age and injury' were starting to take their toll.
He has never been MotoGP world champion, but has 31 race wins under his belt.
Since leaving the coalface of motorsport, Pedrosa has been working as test-rider for team KTM, helping it to develop its new RC16.
He has been offered a 'wildcard', or one-off invite, to ride the RC16 in a race – confirming paddock gossip that the Spaniard would be back for 'one last dance'.
“It's been a long time since my last race and, of course, the mentality for riding in a Grand Prix is different from that of test-riding,” Pedrosa, 35, admits.
“My aim for the Austrian Grand Prix is to trial the features of the new bike in a race situation.
“Watching from home, I've been able to see improvements and new developments in bikes and races, but to be able to understand how MotoGP is nowadays, its new technologies and how to compete and what strategies to use against the others, this wildcard appearance will be crucial.”
Pedrosa's last race was the Valencia Grand Prix in 2018, which is held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste, to the west of the city, and is always the last of the season.
He came fifth, missing out on the podium.
Before his retirement from the sport, Pedrosa competed in 13 seasons, ending up in the top five in the world championship rankings 11 times, and being named reserve champion three times.
His long-term intention had been to keep riding at least until he netted the coveted championship, but with the rest of the field left standing during his final six seasons by the unstoppable Marc Márquez, Pedrosa's heyday appeared to be over – especially with a history of injuries that were beginning to make themselves felt all at once.
As for his chances on the new RC16 at the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Grand Prix, Pedrosa is not expecting to win, but merely to find out how the bike performs in a real-life scenario.
“It's hard to talk about my expectations after so long away from competition,” Dani confesses.
“Maybe I'll just slot straight back into race mentality, or maybe I won't, but we'll try to enjoy the weekend as much as we can.”
He has no plans to return to race-riding full-time, focusing on bike development and test-riding for KTM instead and purely planning to treat the weekend's Grand Prix as a bit of fun.
Related Topics
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