MotoGP wild card for Dani Pedrosa in the Spanish GP / MotoGP

Although Dani Pedrosa announced his MotoGP career at the end of the 2018 season, the “little samurai” is still with the fans of the first class to this day. In his role as a test rider and development of the Red Bull KTM Factory Championship, the short Spaniard has now appeared three times with a wild card – once in 2021 in Spielberg and twice in 2023 (Jerez and Misano).

The three-time world champion (2003 in the 125 cc World Championship, 2004 and 2005 in the 250 cc World Championship) put up an impressive performance. In the first free practice session at the “Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto”, the 38-year-old set the fastest time on the KTM RC16 and later secured a good sixth position on the grid in qualifying. In his first ever race, Pedrosa also finished sixth, just 1.738 seconds behind race winner Brad Binder.

And the legend of MotoGP also cut a very good figure in Misano. In fourth place, he missed the podium by just a few tenths of a second in both races. These results show that the former Honda works driver (2006 to 2018) is still aiming for more racing appearances.

Therefore, we will also see Pedrosa in action at this year’s Spanish GP, as KTM Motorsport Director Pit Beirer confirmed to SPEEDWEEk.com. “Dani tested us recently in Jerez. He is very strong and he was very fast in the test as well. I think he is ready. We are definitely ready for him.”