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Pedrosa to MotoGP confirmed

Joined Jul 2005
240 Posts | 0+
Connecticut, USA
http://www.motogp.com/en/motogp/news_info/...1.htm?menu=home

Meeting with the media on Wednesday in London, 250 World Champion Dani Pedrosa commented on his much anticipated move to the MotoGP class, confirming that he would move up to the premier class with Honda next season.
Pedrosa, who secured his first title at 18 in the 125cc class and a second one last year in his 250cc rookie season, is considered to be the hottest prospect of the Grand Prix scene.
“Honda chose me for various reasons. I won titles and races, but I’m also young and quick and I still have a lot to learn, and I guess they want me to get ready to try and fight for the title in the premier class,� said Pedrosa, who had a ride on the 135m-high London Eye and enjoyed an exceptional view of the British capital city, before cruising down the Thames to discover some landmark buildings of the city.
“Another reason is the fact that I started to race at 14 and I have always been racing for Honda, there’s no other rider who can say that.�
Pedrosa has moved up through the ranks with the support of the Japanese factory, from his debut in the Movistar Junior Cup, under the guidance of former rider Alberto Puig.
“When Honda made an offer, things were clear for Alberto (Puig) and me: the bike comes first, the money is another matter. Getting the best bike was the priority. Racing for a satellite team could have been very interesting money-wise, but the most important is the bike, I’ll have plenty of time to make money.�
Last year, Pedrosa had a first taste of 4-stroke machinery at the Ricardo Tormo track, after the final round of the season and the diminutive Spaniard knows that taming the powerful 990cc will be a tough challenge.
“When I tested Honda’s MotoGP bike last year, back in November at Valencia, I realized that the bike was pretty big for me. I will have to work a lot. It’s a pretty dangerous bike, which doesn’t allow any mistakes. You can crash and get hurt very easily. With this kind of bike, the straights are very short – they’re no longer straights!�
“I’m not afraid of facing the MotoGP riders, my only preoccupation is my fitness. I hope I’ll be able to ride a bike which is much more powerful and much heavier than my 250. In MotoGP, you can’t mess around or just enjoy the ride. If you have time to enjoy riding, it just means that you’re not doing your job properly. If you take it seriously, you can’t really enjoy it. In the end, you are only rewarded for suffering.�
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ooost @ May 20 2005, 12:11 AM)<div class='quotemain'>I wanted to start a topic where we can discuss all the rumors that are milling about for next season because that always is interesting.

Dani Pedrosa to Repsol Honda?  I posted it a few days ago and it was brought up again, apparently his manager and HRC have a gentlemen's agreement.
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Note the date. It only took two months to finally be confirmed.
 
And it look's like Telefonica Moviestar will be kissing him goodbye to Repsol Honda !will be keeping a close eye on him this weekend at Donington,see you all Monday !!
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literally leaving now !
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I cant wait til this guy comes to motogp, he seems very, very good. Because i have'nt got sky i cant really follow the lower classes which is a shame as theres always a good scrap going on in 125's and 250's.

We do need some young stars in motogp and pedrosa is confirmed. Vermeulen AND Kiyonari need to step up too. Also Hopkins is a massive talent, he just needs a better ride.
 
Hopkins has no contract through 2006, he said in a Q&A at crash.net that he has been talking to other teams. Hopefully Honda or Yamaha have taken an interest.
 
I would imagine Yamaha would jump on Hopkins. I think Honda rides are pretty full unless they lose Biaggi and Barros. My guess is Biaggi will be replaced by Pedrosa and dropped back to the Camel bikes.
 
That's the secnario I see playing out, especially with Xaus rumored to leave the Tech 3 Yamaha team for a ride in the AMA. Hopkins could very well land there.
 
It seems such a pity for motogp to loose guys like Xaus and Hodgson, especially as i followed them thro WSB and the fact that its feeding the idea that guys from Superbikes cannot adjust to MotoGP, which is not necasserily true.

But put yourself in their shoes. You get to the top of your game, your winning races(and titles in Hodgsons case) you then make the switch to GP's and it just doesnt work, for whatever reason. As Hodgson said when he left D'antin last year hes tasted the champagne before and wants to taste it again. Being happy in what your doing then becomes more important than trying to be the best guy in the world on the best bikes. And what do happy motorcycle racers make?.......... fast ones!

In a nutshell, what i reckon their thinkin is, fxxxk motogp, im guna go win some races. and fair play to them cos guys like that deserve to be winning.
 
Couldn't agree more. So many riders leave or don't come to MotoGP because you can't be competitive unless you have a top ride and so many top rides are occupied by older riders or riders who don't deserve it. It's a bad deal that Hodgson left and Xaus will too but am I complaining too much? Naw, I enjoy watching them in person here in the states. But yes, something needs to be done to make MotoGP more enticing for riders. Be it added teams or something, I don't know how to fix it but it is in a bad state as far as attractiveness for a rider.
 
I was thinking that Hopkins would jump on Xaus's ride but why would Hopkins go from one uncompetitive bike to another unless he gets some sort of deal from Suzuki to be on top line machinery.
I thought that Xaus was an ok racer but I had no question that he would be uncompetitive in Motogp. He had problems keeping his WSBK on two wheels.

It is a real shame that good riders can't get good bikes tho but these rides aren't cheap.
 
The Tech 3 team isn't uncompetitive, Marco Melandri took his satelite M1 to a couple podiums last season. To be honest I don't know why Xaus isn't riding well on the M1, I would chalk it up to a superbike riding style that the Ducati welcomed and most other GP machines resist but Colin Edwards has said that the M1 is more like a superbike than the Honda. Perhaps it is the happy medium between Honda and Ducati and Xaus needs to have full superbike style settings. I really can't understand it. It could also be his 6'+ frame fumbles around the nimble M1. Those are all the ideas I have left. If Hopkins were to ride for Tech 3 I think it would definitely be a step in the right direction, it certainly couldn't be any worse than Suzuki. In an article from www.crash.net Hopkins is quoted as saying the reason he stayed with Suzuki is because Suzuki promised him a more competitive bike for 2005 and in bringing in new team manager Paul Denning, Hopper bought into it. Read the article here. I think Hopkins would be foolish to resign with Suzuki and I think there are multiple better rides out there including the Tech 3 slot, I believe a factory Ducati seat will open up and if Bridgestones are as important to John as he says they are that may be a perfect match, and if Hopkins does make himself available I think Honda would have a hard time letting him get away. My two cents.
 
The bike Xaus is riding is the same as Edwards and his results are very poor this year, he is even being beaten by his rookie teammate Elias.
It seems many Ducati riders can't adapt to Jap MotoGP bikes, it's happened to Xaus and it's happened to Hodgson and Bayliss too.

It's a pity he couldn't take the place Bayliss left at Ducati, Xaus rookie year was good, he even managed a podium at Quatar with the old 2003 Duke, he needs a Ducati and if he can't get it in MotoGP it's not a bad idea going back to SBK.

I'm really thrilled with Pedrosa's move to Repsol Honda, I honestly think he can put Rossi under pressure. His weak point is wet racing, but he is improving, he managed to finish 4th at Donny which he celebrated more than some of his wins.
 

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