For MotoGP teams, and especially for those that are still trying to get their bikes into the top spots, like the Red Bull KTM factory team, development tests are very important and to have good test riders like Dani Pedrosa will also help a lot.
KTM factory team secured what might be considered the best development rider available: Dani Pedrosa.
The veteran Spanish rider decided to quit racing at the end of the 2018 season, after a long period racing for Honda’s factory teams in all Grand Prix classes, from 125 to 250 cc bikes, before moving to the premier class where he stayed with Repsol Honda until now.
Considered to be one of the best riders around, Dani Pedrosa kowns exactly what needs to be done to turn a MotoGP prototype into a winning machine, and KTM wanted to have him test their RC16 bike as soon as possible.
But Pedrosa was still under contract with Honda Racing Corporation, so he wasn’t able to participate on the post-season test sessions at Valencia and Jerez like everybody else. For example, Ducati agreed to let Jorge Lorenzo to test with Repsol Honda, but he wasn’t able to make any statement about the bike or tests, and he couldn’t even wear any racing gear with Honda’s logo visible.
But KTM got a break, with Honda management agreeing to let Dani Pedrosa to test the RC16 before what was supposed to be his first taste of the Austrian bike in February, at the first test of the 2019 season in Sepang.
This will be very important for KTM to understand how to develop their race machine, and hopefully Hafizh Syahrin will also benefit from Dani Pedrosa’s input. According to Syahrin, who will ride for the Tech3 team with KTM bikes, the main problem of the RC16 prototype is the lack of grip he’s feeling with the rear tyre.