Dani Pedrosa To Make MotoGP Return As KTM's Wildcard
The Austrian brand's wildcard for Misano.
Returning from his retirement in 2018, Dani Pedrosa will be taking to the track once again, but not as a MotoGP test rider for KTM, but as a wildcard for the grid of the Misano GP.
KTM's MotoGP team field the RC16. Pedrosa brought his MotoGP experience to the table when he was contracted to be part of the development team. Instead of being a full-fledged racer, the Spaniard became a test and development rider for the Austrian brand in 2019. You could say that he will have no problems mounting the RC16, seeing as he does so on a regular basis, familiarizing, and testing the bike for the best possible settings and tweaks on track for the team.
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Pit Beirer, KTM's motorsports director, confirmed that Pedrosa agreed to return to the grid once all the development work for the 2022 RC16 is finished. Beirer stated that "We will definitely see Dani this year. We will do a wildcard with him as soon as we think the package for 2022 is ready for it. We want Dani back to a GP circuit. Nevertheless, the final decision rests with Dani himself."
Beirer stated that Pedrosa wants to race once again. Beirer said that "he told us that he wants to do it. We would not have pushed him in that direction. He apparently wants to compete with the other MotoGP guys again."
After three years of retirement from the sport, it will be interesting to see how Pedrosa stacks up against the current grid and current lineup of GP race bikes. A lot has happened in three years' time, and the GP teams have evolved as well. However, Pedrosa's stint could go off without a hitch, given his thirteen-season run with Repsol Honda. Thirteen years is definitely a lot of experience, and fans would definitely be excited to see him make a comeback officially donning the navy and orange of KTM's GP team.
Sources: AutoSport, Visor Down
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