Pedrosa 'aggressive and smooth' for 30th pole position
Even at 31 years of age, with over 16 seasons in grand prix experience behind him, Dani Pedrosa is still taking things on board, learning new things, as he sought to improve his qualifying performances in the premier class.
In 2016, qualifying had become something of an ordeal for the three-time world champion, but that appears to be rectified. Pedrosa sped to a second pole position of the year on Saturday, the first time he has bettered the rest in Q2 twice in one year since '13.
What's more, he has sensational pace. While the entire field complains of tyre life and the other Honda men the over-softness of the front tyre, Pedrosa's light frame and smooth-braking style appear to have given him the edge over many laps.
Speaking on how he has adapted his approach to better his Saturday showings, Pedrosa revealed controlling aggression and smoothness are key to getting the best out of a package in the 15-minute shootout.
"For a qualifying lap it's a bit of both," said Pedrosa, 0.3s faster than Jorge Lorenzo in Q2. "It's just to know when you have to be aggressive or when you have to be smooth. Learning points of the track and learning points of the corner that you can ask for more and points that you cannot.
"This makes a difference in the whole lap. Every rider knows. I was not very comfortable last year in this moment and I just work because this class is really the key point. One of the key points is the qualifying."
On Saturday as a whole, he continued: "Very happy about this pole because last year struggling all the way in qualifying. Today to have the second pole is amazing, especially in front of this crowd. Sure, not an easy day in general because adapting to the new chicane and testing so many tyres...
"The hot of today was really strong and was difficult to manage all that in one day. But pretty much a good day because we work in a good way, positive from the morning, trying to know which is the good tyre.
"Also in the afternoon we saw much heat. We make one mistake, but we were able to still do a good job in qualifying. Is one of the moments of the weekend most important. So, we manage this time to do a good qualifying and this is thanks to my team."
Judging by Jerez - punishing, high temperatures on an aged, low-grip surface - Pedrosa is well placed to take advantage of his starting position. Like so many others, the Spaniard believes the key will be tyre conservation.
"Yes, this race always is crucial the tyre choice and the durability of the tires in the race. Last year was one of the most difficult in all the championship. For sure tomorrow we have to pick the correct tyre to get the good feeling on the bike and then see how we manage the situation.
"We know. It's going to be hot. It's going to be difficult, but we have to keep our head down and try to be focused for the race. We work good today, so today we are happy, but we need to focus a lot for tomorrow.
"I wish I could say something for tomorrow, but now we don't know. Last race was so difficult that now I don't want to say anything. I just want to focus on the pace and try to get the good feeling for the race."
