Pedrosa officially MotoGP top speed record holder

It probably comes as little consolation to Dani Pedrosa after his abject Gran Premio d’Italia Alice weekend, but on the Mugello straight the Spaniard became officially the fastest rider ever on a MotoGP bike.

The Repsol Honda rider was clocked in the speed trap at a phenomenal 349.288kph, a top speed some 6kph quicker than the previous record for a Grand Prix round, held by Makoto Tamada on a 990cc Honda at the Shanghai circuit back in 2006. There had initially been doubt over the accuracy of the speed measurement, but Pedrosa’s achievement was quickly confirmed ahead of the MotoGP race. Loris Capirossi had been the unofficial record holder for his 347.4kph straight line speed at the 2004 Official Test at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The highest top speed at the Mugello circuit before last weekend was 342.966kph, recorded by Alex Barros in 2004.

Pedrosa has been diagnosed with a small fracture to his right thigh, picked up on Saturday morning in the second practice session for round five of the MotoGP World Championship. His weekend ended with an early crash on raceday.