Red Bull KTM manager Francesco Guidotti has revealed a good news that Dani Pedrosa to return to the 2023 Jerez MotoGP in April as a wildcard rider.
“It’s fantastic news that Dani wants to refresh himself with MotoGP this season and Jerez makes good sense as it’s a popular place for us to test and, also, he knows the place very well,” Guidotti said.
“It will be an ideal opportunity for him to get more information for the future development of our race bike and we look forward to having him with us in the pitbox.” Guidotti added.
It is the second time that Pedrosa as a KTM MotoGP rider will make his appearance as a wildcard rider during a Grand Prix weekend.
His first other wild-card appearance came at the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix, where he qualified 14th and took an outstanding tenth place after escaping injury in a brutal accident that forced a restart.
However, the Spaniard rider recovered very well after the restart to eventually cross the finish line in tenth, a major achievement for a rider who appears at the start through a wildcard rider.
“You never know. I would like to do it one more time. Of course MotoGP has changed a lot, each year qualifying is more important, being strong on a fast lap and being prepared to start in both races.” Pedrosa said.
Pedrosa is best known for his time with the Repsol Honda Team in the MotoGP class finishing championship runner-up in 2007, 2010 and 2012 and is one of the most successful modern MotoGP riders with 31 MotoGP wins and 112 podiums. He announced his retirement at the end of 2018.
However, to being Red Bull KTM test rider, Pedrosa had also the challenge of his debut in the car racing, in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo in 2021.
