In Sepang, during the three days reserved for test drivers, Dani Pedrosa obviously rode for KTM, but his name never appeared on the timesheet.
“Dani is an ‘old style’ rider – commented the new team manager Francesco Guidotti – it was he who asked us not to use the transponder on his motorcycle. However, we can assure you that he has turned on interesting times ”.
The bike you see in the photo is one of the prototype forklifts taken without fairing, which did not bother the garage of the Mattighofen house.
“If you go and take a closer look at our bike it’s very simple”, Guidotti explained.
Not using the transponder does not mean hiding, this is good to clarify immediately: the other teams, if they are interesting, and they are, take the times anyway. However, this has created a certain curiosity, so much so that someone, even Stefan Bradl, wondered about the KTM’s performance Mika Kallio, which had two motorcycles with two transponders.
“I am convinced that every day Kallio’s best times have been set by Pedrosa – the HRC test driver told Speedweek – Why do you need a transponder on the bike to be able to read your sector times. Otherwise our test job won’t work. Going around without a transponder would be useless. “
On the monitors the Finnish driver was like Kallio Bike 1 e Kallio Bike2. The first day, Kallio1 finished third on the hit list, so Stefan Bradl might be right in his hypothesis, because Dani Pedrosa, 35, has always been faster than his colleague, now 39.
Pedrosa was third overall at the Sepang 2019 IRTA test in the second of the three days in which all 22 regular riders were in the saddle. And he’s only had one race in his three years as a KTM test driver so far, finishing 10 in the 2021 Styrian GP.
The hypothesis, however, was denied by Guidotti: “Dani did not use Mika’s bike or transponder”the manager said.
Be that as it may Pedrosa, 31 victories in MotoGP, with three second places as the best result (2008-2009-2013), 54 in the three categories, three world titles, he is credited as one of the best test riders in the world championship and despite his small physique, and indeed perhaps precisely because of that, he is considered the inventor of the new riding style which plans to raise the bike as soon as possible in order to accelerate fully. A necessity for him, so light that he can’t load the rear tire enough.
