Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard appearance in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year's Spanish GP in April.
The 31-time MotoGP race winner will make his second competitive start for KTM since joining the Austrian manufacturer as a test rider in 2019, having retired from full-time competition the season before.
Along with Mika Kallio, the Spaniard has led the KTM test team with the development of the RC16 and will compete alongside factory riders Brad Binder and new signing Jack Miller at Jerez on 28-30 April.
Pedrosa's debut grand prix start for KTM was eventful as he was involved in a clash with Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori in the 2021 Styrian GP, when the Italian rode into Pedrosa's stricken motorcycle unsighted and it ignited into a huge fireball.
The race was red-flagged but Pedrosa was able to make the restart and finished in 10th place.
Hoping for a smoother outcome to Pedrosa's last MotoGP start, KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti said: "It's fantastic news that Dani wants to refresh himself with MotoGP this season and Jerez makes good sense as it's a popular place for us to test and, also, he knows the place very well.
"It will be an ideal opportunity for him to get more information for the future development of our race bike and we look forward to having him with us in the pitbox."
Dani Pedrosa. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: MotoGP
"Dani is a strong guy with a strong mentality and we always said when he wanted to do a wildcard then we'd be happy to make that happen," added Pit Beirer, KTM motorsports director.
"The perfect 'test' is always a race situation. If we can work on future development parts then it is super-important and I'm very happy that Dani will race again."
Earlier on Thursday, the factory KTM squad launched its 2023 MotoGP team and updated livery alongside Binder and Miller, the latter joining from Ducati on a two-year deal.
The Austrian manufacturer has been utilising a partnership with the Red Bull Formula 1 squad at its base in Milton Keynes to develop the aerodynamic package of the RC16 MotoGP bike, as part of its plan to climb the MotoGP pecking order after finishing fourth in the world constructors' championship last year.
Share Or Save This Story
F1 drivers braced for more deployment pain at Belgian GP
Has the bad luck for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli evened out in the F1 title fight?
Fernando Alonso has "no idea" what he’ll do when he eventually retires from F1
Why Dani Pedrosa won't replace Maverick Vinales at Le Mans, despite his form
Dani Pedrosa reveals the ‘crazy’ training that helped him master wet MotoGP races
Dani Pedrosa reflects on ‘Fantastic Five’: ‘In Stoner I saw things I simply couldn't do’
MotoGP's single-bike proposal on brink of collapse
KTM says Maverick Vinales rejected Tech3 option after factory plans changed
Guenther Steiner "happily staying out” of Maverick Vinales/KTM contract saga
Damon Hill reveals the F1 career lesson he wishes he had learned earlier
James Vowles explains how Williams F1 delays could be "one of the best things"
Sergio Perez opens up about mental toll of partnering Max Verstappen at Red Bull
Why less horsepower is actually better for NASCAR at superspeedways
Does nobody want to win the 2026 MotoGP title?
What we learned as MotoGP's title fight tightened in German GP
Five things we learned from MotoGP’s action-packed Dutch GP
Aprilia faces its biggest challenge right now – and Marc Marquez is just one part of it
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments