Pedrosa: “Leading the race was amazing”

It was a signature rocket start from the second row of the grid for Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) at COTA, as the three-time World Champion swept around the outside to lead into Turn 1. Holding firm for a good number of laps, the Spaniard then dueled teammate Marc Marquez in some style before the number 93 began to pull away - and tyre life led Pedrosa to switch focus to a good finish, following a crash out of contention in Argentina.

Hunted down in the latter stages by Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and crossing the line third, the podium was Pedrosa’s first since his stunning victory in Misano last year – with the weekend overall a big positive, and another big step forward.

Dani Pedrosa, P3: “Overall it was a good weekend, much further up front. Some things could have been better but I’ happy overall. I got a clean start, finally, and starting from fourth I could have a clean line from the start. Leading the race for a few laps was amazing. I could have gone faster but I knew I had to take care of my tyres. All weekend I had problems to manage the right side of the rear but then in the race I destroyed the right side of the front! I couldn’t stay with Valentino because I had to slow but it was an important step and I’m looking forward to Jerez, a track I like. The last race was disappointing and today was a difficult race – you’re thinking about the disappointments from before but you don’t want to go too hard and make another mistake. But we’re understanding a lot more where to change some little things, and hopefully in the next few races we can make more step forward.”