KTM began the in-season two-day testing at Le Mans with both of its MotoGP riders – Pol Esparago and Johan Zarco – along with its test rider Mika Kallio. However, there was no sign of Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa retired from the MotoGP racing at the end of the last season as his seat at Honda was taken away by Jorge Lorenzo. Although he did have opportunities in other teams, he decided to call it a day and announced his retirement.
We didn’t want Pedrosa to leave the motorsport, no one did. Thanks to Red Bull KTM who approached the Spaniard and asked him to be one of its test riders. Thankfully, Pedrosa said yes.
It was great news because KTM would benefit a lot from Pedrosa as he’s an experienced rider. His valuable inputs regarding KTM race bikes would help the team to improve the machines and, as a result, performance in the races. And, of course, we would still get to see Pedrosa on track doing what he does best.
Pedrosa made his test debut for KTM at Jerez in December 2018. Unfortunately, he couldn’t continue to ride because of an injury and following stem cell surgery. And he’s been away from the track ever since.
As per the reports, Red Bull KTM had good results from the recent two-day test at Le Mans but it definitely missed Pedrosa who’s still recovering from his surgery. The next test is scheduled to take place at Jerez on May 6 after the Spanish GP. While KTM is looking forward to the test, it’s very likely that Pedrosa will remain unseen.
