What are Dani Pedrosa's options for next year?
Dani Pedrosa and Repsol Honda's long-term partnership is coming to an end in 2018 due to the team signing Jorge Lorenzo for the next two years. Pedrosa still has options, but where will he be next year?
It was confirmed a few weeks ago that Dani Pedrosa had lost his seat at Repsol Honda to the shock announcement of Jorge Lorenzo signing a two-year deal with the manufacturer. This year is Pedrosa’s 13th year with the Repsol Honda team in MotoGP, a long-term partnership that will come to an end after this season.
Pedrosa held a press conference at the Catalunya circuit before the Spanish GP to explain what is happening for him. Many thought he would announce his retirement but, the 32-year-old doesn’t have retirement in his sights anytime soon and wants to continue racing in the sport.
During the press conference Pedrosa said: “It was my wish that I can say something clear for this GP after the last race but unfortunately things still are not as clear as I would like.”
“Only [thing] I can say today is I have several options that are good options. I need the time to think about them and I would not rush to make the wrong decision.”
So, Pedrosa himself has said that there are options for him. But, what are the realistic options for him?
All factory seats are taken up for next year so Pedrosa’s best bet would be a satellite team.
The Marc VDS team are currently running Honda engines but are looking to change that in 2019 and are unsure whether it will be Yamaha or Suzuki engines. They have already secured Franco Morbidelli for 2019 and still have one seat free.
Takaaki Nakagami’s HRC contract ends this season and is yet to be confirmed for next year. So that may be another Honda seat open at LRC, but it is not for certain.
It is rumoured that a new satellite Yamaha team will be on the grid in 2019. Due to Tech 3 switching to KTM engines for next season and getting rid of their Yamaha engines, Yamaha don’t have a satellite team. Yamaha, along with the sponsor Petronas are rumoured to bring a bike onto the grid next year. This is definitely an option for Pedrosa as it is a completely new team and it gives him a chance to ride on a different manufacturer.
No matter where he ends up, we will surely see Dani Pedrosa on the starting grid next year.