Here's what puts Marc marquez above other riders according to Dani Pedrosa
Categories: MotoGP
After 13 years at Repsol Honda, Dani Pedrosa retired in 2018. The Spaniard still sees his former teammate Marc Marquez as the best rider on the grid and explains why.
For six years Dani Pedrosa was allowed to call Marc Marquez his teammate. After Casey Stoner’s retirement in 2012, the then 20-year-old joined the Honda factory team and impressed from the get-go.
Marc Marquez in his debut season 2013 – Image provided by Motorsport Images
In his debut season, Marquez laid the foundation for an incredible career to date, winning the MotoGP title in his first season in the premier class.
Dani Pedrosa, himself one of the most esteemed riders of the last twenty years, knows Marquez well. The Spaniard remembers his time alongside probably two of the best riders in history:
“I had strong riders like Casey Stoner or Marc [Marquez] as teammates, but at the time I felt equal to them, I wasn’t inferior.”
Pedrosa himself is often underestimated because he has never been able to win the MotoGP title. However, many MotoGP riders held him in high regard, including Aleix Espargaró:
“It was always a pleasure to watch him ride. All the riders of my generation have tried to learn from his unique way of controlling the bike.”
In the meantime, Pedrosa is a test rider for KTM and is decisively involved in the development work for the RC-16.
However, he continues to rave about his former teammate Marquez. For him, Marquez stands out from his MotoGP rivals, even if the successes in recent years were lacking due to injury and a slower bike.
“Marc is a special rider. He was impressive on the track because he did things I couldn’t do. I knew that if I crashed as he did, I would end up in the hospital because I would have broken something. I was aware that I would risk more.”
One strength of the 85-time Grand Prix winner particularly stuck in Pedrosa’s mind:
“There were times when the bike was going very well for me and I was fast, but when it wasn’t going well I was struggling.”
“With Marc it was different. He has this special ability to take victories with bikes that are not perfect.”
