Dani Pedrosa & Honda

AJV80 · Sep 28, 2016

I have always wondered why Honda have kept Dani Pedrosa around for as long as they have. He has some brilliant moments and seasons but overall his performance isn't really spectacular. He has been with Honda and in the Premiere class for about 10 years now and just signed another 2 year contract.

I can appreciate that his physical size more often than not doesn't help him, being so small and lightweight is fine from a weight saving point of view but he is racing in a series with tyres designed to suit the proportions of the majority of the field (or for just VR if you are into conspiracies) and he is also at a disadvantage with shifting his weight on the bike. Not his fault and given his results with this in mind he is doing really well, but his size disadvantage is also not Honda's fault either.

He is a second rider now and seems to be a consistent one but in all that time has nobody potentially better come along to fill the role, someone who could do the second rider gig and also have some potential to go on and be more successful than Pedrosa.

I doubt he will ever actually win a championship in MotoGP and I think Honda probably realise the same.They obviously keep him around for a reason. Does he offer great feedback for development of the bike, or do they see merit in his consistency as a second rider or a bit of both? Do they not want a second rider that challenges their lead rider to much? Does he have some dirty photos of Shuhei Nakamoto doing something that involves a cucumber, some curry powder and a Thai ladyboy?

I don't really know the full story behind him and Honda, I'm sure many of you lot know a hell of a lot more than me?

Arrabbiata1 · Sep 28, 2016

AJV80 said:

Ah - I miss John Mockett.

Dr No · Sep 28, 2016

What's the situation with Mockett?
I've no access to comics, has he stopped the cartoons?

Arrabbiata1 · Sep 28, 2016

Dr No said:
What's the situation with Mockett?
I've no access to comics, has he stopped the cartoons?

Well they used to appear in Bike magazine and MCN - I think he still publishes them in Oz.

pyeman · Oct 5, 2016

AJV80 said:
I have always wondered why Honda have kept Dani Pedrosa around for as long as they have. He has some brilliant moments and seasons but overall his performance isn't really spectacular. He has been with Honda and in the Premiere class for about 10 years now and just signed another 2 year contract.

I can appreciate that his physical size more often than not doesn't help him, being so small and lightweight is fine from a weight saving point of view but he is racing in a series with tyres designed to suit the proportions of the majority of the field (or for just VR if you are into conspiracies) and he is also at a disadvantage with shifting his weight on the bike. Not his fault and given his results with this in mind he is doing really well, but his size disadvantage is also not Honda's fault either.

He is a second rider now and seems to be a consistent one but in all that time has nobody potentially better come along to fill the role, someone who could do the second rider gig and also have some potential to go on and be more successful than Pedrosa.

I doubt he will ever actually win a championship in MotoGP and I think Honda probably realise the same.They obviously keep him around for a reason. Does he offer great feedback for development of the bike, or do they see merit in his consistency as a second rider or a bit of both? Do they not want a second rider that challenges their lead rider to much? Does he have some dirty photos of Shuhei Nakamoto doing something that involves a cucumber, some curry powder and a Thai ladyboy?

I don't really know the full story behind him and Honda, I'm sure many of you lot know a hell of a lot more than me?

I think you hit the nail firmly on the head towards the end there....i have long suspected that Pedrosa must have some photos of Nakamoto with his .... somewhere it shouldn't be,how the .... else has he managed to stay on a full factory Honda for 10 years??.....he's just turned 31, and at 5 foot 2 and 51 kgs he was never gonna win a moto gp title.

p4p1 · Oct 5, 2016

Who out there does a better job than Pedrosa? Remember Lorenzo(don't know exactly why) and Rossi aren't options. This year is likely an anomaly and he's still sitting 4th in the championship.

AJV80 · Oct 5, 2016

p4p1 said:
Who out there does a better job than Pedrosa? Remember Lorenzo(don't know exactly why) and Rossi aren't options. This year is likely an anomaly and he's still sitting 4th in the championship.

There is no logical replacement that will immediately get realists like Pedrosa but I think Cal might be capable of it.

I don't think he will get another contract in 2019, and also don't know what other teams would really want him over fresh blood that haven't got their best days behind them.

p4p1 · Oct 5, 2016

AJV80 said:
There is no logical replacement that will immediately get realists like Pedrosa but I think Cal might be capable of it.

I don't think he will get another contract in 2019, and also don't know what other teams would really want him over fresh blood that haven't got their best days behind them.

At the beginning of the year when Pedrosa re-signed Cal was throwing it down the road at every opportunity. With no young rider really dominating moto2 or other satellites Pedrosa is a good safe proven option. Remember Cal is also like a year younger than Dani so what's the point? It could upset the dynamic in the garage etc so there's no need. If Cal keeps up his form though there's probably a good chance he gets a pretty close to Repsol bike next year.

AJV80 · Oct 5, 2016

p4p1 said:
At the beginning of the year when Pedrosa re-signed Cal was throwing it down the road at every opportunity. With no young rider really dominating moto2 or other satellites Pedrosa is a good safe proven option. Remember Cal is also like a year younger than Dani so what's the point? It could upset the dynamic in the garage etc so there's no need. If Cal keeps up his form though there's probably a good chance he gets a pretty close to Repsol bike next year.

Do you know how much Dani's contract is with Honda? I always thought they might be getting him cheap. Making it worth keeping him based on his consistency and not ruffling any feathers with Repsol.

p4p1 · Oct 5, 2016

AJV80 said:
Do you know how much Dani's contract is with Honda? I always thought they might be getting him cheap. Making it worth keeping him based on his consistency and not ruffling any feathers with Repsol.

Pretty sure it was a couple million but with some good win bonuses. Also when you look at the riders to replace Dani it really would be a massive risk.

AJV80 · Oct 6, 2016

pyeman said:
I think you hit the nail firmly on the head towards the end there....i have long suspected that Pedrosa must have some photos of Nakamoto with his .... somewhere it shouldn't be,how the .... else has he managed to stay on a full factory Honda for 10 years??.....he's just turned 31, and at 5 foot 2 and 51 kgs he was never gonna win a moto gp title.

I find it amusing how his size is brought up as a disadvantage like he is disabled, he is a professional athlete. If your body is not right, do something about it, go to the gym, put some extra weight in your suit. He has heaps of options to deal with his weight issue ..... McDonalds, KFC, Burger King. The bigger guys in the series like Redding and Rossi (who is looking like Skelator BTW) have a tougher challenge to overcome their weight issue than just having to eat more junk food. Could think of worse problems to have.

I think if Danni could develop and grow a nice 10kg - 15kg pot belly it would sort his weight issue out no sweat. The Stomach is a good area to put weight on, its nice and low when he hangs off around corners. Alpine star could make a special little suit to encapsulate his belly.

Richy56 · Oct 6, 2016

AJV80 said:
I find it amusing how his size is brought up as a disadvantage like he is disabled, he is a professional athlete. If your body is not right, do something about it, go to the gym, put some extra weight in your suit. He has heaps of options to deal with his weight issue ..... McDonalds, KFC, Burger King. The bigger guys in the series like Redding and Rossi (who is looking like Skelator BTW) have a tougher challenge to overcome their weight issue than just having to eat more junk food. Could think of worse problems to have.

I think if Danni could develop and grow a nice 10kg - 15kg pot belly it would sort his weight issue out no sweat. The Stomach is a good area to put weight on, its nice and low when he hangs off around corners. Alpine star could make a special little suit to encapsulate his belly.

Doesn't even need junk fund a few gallons of real ale will see him right....ask John Hopkins

payne by name · Oct 6, 2016

My brother and I have regularly wondered this. He only ever seems to turn on the performances when it is contract time but then always just fades away.

I have been impressed recently that he's been prepared to do a bit of duking out, something that he always never had the spirit for, but I do have to question how he's had a full factory ride for so long.

AJV80 · Oct 6, 2016

payne by name said:
My brother and I have regularly wondered this. He only ever seems to turn on the performances when it is contract time but then always just fades away.

I have been impressed recently that he's been prepared to do a bit of duking out, something that he always never had the spirit for, but I do have to question how he's had a full factory ride for so long.

This is the problem with Dani. Every once in a while he gets a root with one of the umbrella girls and then he's unstoppable. The rest of the time he's just moderately quick compared to the others ... Then you see him suddenly put in a blinder of a performance at some place and you think he's suddenly a new man. Trouble is, come Monday morning, he's back to being the same man he was a week ago...

Still a consistent reliable rider getting good points

yamfan · Oct 6, 2016

AJV80 said:
I find it amusing how his size is brought up as a disadvantage like he is disabled, he is a professional athlete. If your body is not right, do something about it, go to the gym, put some extra weight in your suit. He has heaps of options to deal with his weight issue ..... McDonalds, KFC, Burger King. The bigger guys in the series like Redding and Rossi (who is looking like Skelator BTW) have a tougher challenge to overcome their weight issue than just having to eat more junk food. Could think of worse problems to have.

I think if Danni could develop and grow a nice 10kg - 15kg pot belly it would sort his weight issue out no sweat. The Stomach is a good area to put weight on, its nice and low when he hangs off around corners. Alpine star could make a special little suit to encapsulate his belly.

Dainese should make a special suit for Valentino to stop it giving him a wedgie. That way we wouldn't have to watch him plucking at his arse every time he leaves pit lane [emoji1]

Arrabbiata1 · Oct 6, 2016

AJV80 said:
I think if Danni could develop and grow a nice 10kg - 15kg pot belly it would sort his weight issue out no sweat. The Stomach is a good area to put weight on, its nice and low when he hangs off around corners. Alpine star could make a special little suit to encapsulate his belly.

Fair point - it never stood in the way of McGuinness.

JohnnyKnockdown · Oct 6, 2016

Arrabbiata1 said:
Fair point - it never stood in the way of McGuinness.

It works for Cal. The bigger his head gets, the faster his imagination goes

Richy56 · Oct 6, 2016

yamfan said:
Dainese should make a special suit for Valentino to stop it giving him a wedgie. That way we wouldn't have to watch him plucking at his arse every time he leaves pit lane [emoji1]

The guy has that many pre race rituals, no wonder his starts are normally ..... he is thinking about if he forgot to pull his wedgie out.

Made me laugh when he said after Milano he didn't want to follow Lorenzo cos last time his engine blew up. The bloke is mentally deranged, when he does retire he will be in a padded room room and drinking his own piss within weeks.

Marc and Jorge have driven him mad and it's hilarious

Gaz · Oct 6, 2016

p4p1 said:
Who out there does a better job than Pedrosa? Remember Lorenzo(don't know exactly why) and Rossi aren't options. This year is likely an anomaly and he's still sitting 4th in the championship.

I am sure that Cal would have someone in mind , someone that has GP experience, perhaps even a race winner, someone who has ridden different makes of bikes ............ but the name escapes me

aaronl · Oct 6, 2016

For as long as he has been around and I see images of Pedrosa, I get flashbacks to Gaston Rahier standing next to his drbig

It still brings a smile to my face

Dani Pedrosa & Honda

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