Dani Pedrosa may be the best rider to never win the MotoGP World Championship, but will he ever be more than that?
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix from Laguna Seca will air on SPEED on Sunday, July 29th at 6:00pm ET. Qualifying will air on SPEED on Saturday, July 28 at 11:00pm ET and free practice will air on SPEED2 Friday, July 27 at 5:10pm ET.
The MotoGP World Championship arrives in Laguna Seca for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix with a number of big name riders looking to make a point.
From the top of the championship tally to riders shockingly low on the order, Laguna Seca stands as an opportunity to signal intentions moving forward.
Dani Pedrosa
Dani Pedrosa long held the distinction of being Honda's 'golden boy,' dating back to the days when HRC designed a new racebike from the ground up to fit his diminutive stature even when his teammate was bearing the #1 plate.
However, Pedrosa's star has waned somewhat as of late. While clearly one of the series' elite, he hasn't been able to take the next step to elevate his game to that elusive Valentino Rossi-Jorge Lorenzo level. Making matters worse, he was clearly outshone when Casey Stoner was slotted in beside him at Repsol Honda last season and the Australian promptly powered away with his second world title -- a feat that has thus far eluded Pedrosa.
At risk of being pushed aside with HRC with Stoner ruling and Marc Marquez ascending, things have shifted back in Pedrosa's direction as of late. Stoner's shock retirement announcement cemented the Spaniard's future with Repsol Honda and on track Pedrosa has stepped forward as well.
Finding his groove at just the time that Stoner has encountered struggles, Pedrosa is now Jorge Lorenzo's closest challenger in the points table. And with an all-new RC213V at his disposal (one that Stoner has only accepted in part), Pedrosa is in with a chance to really up the chase.
Pedrosa's point to prove? He needs to show that he's ready to finally erase the somewhat backhanded complimentary title of 'best racer never to win the MotoGP World Championship.'
Dani goes well here and in fact stands as the only non-MotoGP champ to take a victory here in the modern era. A win at Laguna Seca this weekend would further up the heat that Pedrosa is applying on Lorenzo in the developing '12 championship fight.
SPEED.com Motorcycle Racing Editor Chris Martin saw Eddie Lawson win aboard a Kawasaki the first time he attended an AMA Superbike race and witnessed Ben Bostrom win a World Superbike race aboard a V&H Ducati the first time he worked one. He has written about AMA SBK, WSBK, and MotoGP for SPEED.com since 2003. Chris is now on Twitter.
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| Dani Pedrosa |
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix from Laguna Seca will air on SPEED on Sunday, July 29th at 6:00pm ET. Qualifying will air on SPEED on Saturday, July 28 at 11:00pm ET and free practice will air on SPEED2 Friday, July 27 at 5:10pm ET.
The MotoGP World Championship arrives in Laguna Seca for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix with a number of big name riders looking to make a point.
From the top of the championship tally to riders shockingly low on the order, Laguna Seca stands as an opportunity to signal intentions moving forward.
Dani Pedrosa
Dani Pedrosa long held the distinction of being Honda's 'golden boy,' dating back to the days when HRC designed a new racebike from the ground up to fit his diminutive stature even when his teammate was bearing the #1 plate.
However, Pedrosa's star has waned somewhat as of late. While clearly one of the series' elite, he hasn't been able to take the next step to elevate his game to that elusive Valentino Rossi-Jorge Lorenzo level. Making matters worse, he was clearly outshone when Casey Stoner was slotted in beside him at Repsol Honda last season and the Australian promptly powered away with his second world title -- a feat that has thus far eluded Pedrosa.
At risk of being pushed aside with HRC with Stoner ruling and Marc Marquez ascending, things have shifted back in Pedrosa's direction as of late. Stoner's shock retirement announcement cemented the Spaniard's future with Repsol Honda and on track Pedrosa has stepped forward as well.
Finding his groove at just the time that Stoner has encountered struggles, Pedrosa is now Jorge Lorenzo's closest challenger in the points table. And with an all-new RC213V at his disposal (one that Stoner has only accepted in part), Pedrosa is in with a chance to really up the chase.
Pedrosa's point to prove? He needs to show that he's ready to finally erase the somewhat backhanded complimentary title of 'best racer never to win the MotoGP World Championship.'
Dani goes well here and in fact stands as the only non-MotoGP champ to take a victory here in the modern era. A win at Laguna Seca this weekend would further up the heat that Pedrosa is applying on Lorenzo in the developing '12 championship fight.
SPEED.com Motorcycle Racing Editor Chris Martin saw Eddie Lawson win aboard a Kawasaki the first time he attended an AMA Superbike race and witnessed Ben Bostrom win a World Superbike race aboard a V&H Ducati the first time he worked one. He has written about AMA SBK, WSBK, and MotoGP for SPEED.com since 2003. Chris is now on Twitter.
