Dani Pedrosa feels setting changes with his Repsol Honda provided key performance gains on his way to fifth place at the Malaysian MotoGP as attention turns to his final race at the Valencia finale.
After a frustrating Australian MotoGP, Marc Marquez has led the calls for his Repsol Honda squad to step up its efforts to secure the teams’ and manufacturers’ world championships.
As rumoured since August , Dani Pedrosa has officially joined Red Bull KTM as its MotoGP test rider on a two-year deal having recently announced his retirement from Grand Prix racing.<
Michelin may have brought an expanded line-up of four (stiffer) rear tyres to this weekend's inaugural Thailand MotoGP, but 'the only tyre we suggest for the race is the hard one'.
Sunday's Aragon MotoGP is shaping up to be another Marc Marquez vs Ducati victory contest. But with Jorge Lorenzo and/or Andrea Dovizioso beating Honda's runaway title leader at the last three rounds, can Marquez end Ducati's run in front of his home fans?
Dani Pedrosa remained silent on Thursday about his highly-rumoured switch to KTM as a MotoGP test rider next season, but Pol Espargaro spoke openly about what the 31-time race winner could bring to the Austrian project.
Dani Pedrosa has just six more chances to sign off his MotoGP career with a race win in every season since 2002. But it looks like a tall order at present, with the Spaniard yet to grace the podium in the twelve races so far this year - his longest rostrum drought in grand prix.
The top two riders - Pedrosa and Morbidelli - now progress to the Q2 pole position shootout, where they will join the ten fastest riders after third practice. The others will start, in the following order, from 13th on the grid onwards.
Jack Miller was one of five MotoGP riders given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday. And having met the Prime Minister of Thailand earlier this year, Miller joked he's starting to feel a bit like an Australian diplomat!
KTM initially thought its MotoGP test programme would be less important in 2019, when the factory will double its presence on the grid to four bikes with the addition of Tech3.
Former 250GP title runner-up Fonsi Nieto has joined the growing band of ex-racer now employed as rider coaches by MotoGP teams. In the Spaniard's case he provides trackside feedback for the Alma Pramac Ducati team of Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller.
Dani Pedrosa, currently enduring his longest podium drought since his rookie 2001 grand prix season, was back at the sharp end of the MotoGP timesheets during Monday's official test at Brno.
Dani Pedrosa has kept his Friday timesheet-topping performance in perspective as he looks to build on a positive start in hot temperatures at Brno for Repsol Honda.
Full MotoGP FP2 results from Brno Dani Pedrosa has claimed top spot after Friday practice at Brno in sweltering hot conditions with a one-tenth advantage over nearest rival Danilo Petrucci.
With his retirement decision now official, Dani Pedrosa's main focus is a return to competitiveness during his final ten MotoGP races for Repsol Honda. Pedrosa has taken at least one MotoGP win per season since his 2006 debut, with a total of 31 victories.
Alberto Puig played a major role in starting Dani Pedrosa's racing career, when he selected the youngster from hundreds of hopefuls in a Movistar talent search.
Repsol Honda pulled off one of the biggest surprises in recent MotoGP history by signing Jorge Lorenzo to partner Marc Marquez next season. The Spanish stars have won seven premier-class titles, three for Lorenzo and four for Marquez, including every MotoGP championship since 2011.
Updated with quotes from Dani Pedrosa. Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig is open to Dani Pedrosa staying on as a factory MotoGP test rider in 2019. But it will depend entirely on what Pedrosa wishes to do.