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Once again Dani Pedrosa proved that class is not water and in his first outing of 2024 in the guise of a KTM wild card he immediately brought home the result. Fourth overall in a Jerez Sprint Race that turned out to be an elimination race. Then Quartararo was penalized 8 seconds for irregular tire pressure, but Dani at the time of the interview still did not know that. Unlike many colleagues who got caught up in the heat, he was able to manage himself and using his experience kept away from the wet patches that misled many.
"Qualifying was difficult because I had never ridden this bike in the wet before and we were lacking both on the mapping front and in terms of setting. having no time for tuning, I tried, but it was impossible to lap on the 1'47" that was the useful feedback, plus with the tires I did not feel comfortable, so I had to settle for 16th place on the grid," his analysis.
"Starting so far back is never easy, plus in conditions like those encountered today in the race, in a moment you risk ending up wide and on the ground - he then continued - That said, I started well and I think after the first two corners I was 13th. I was behind Quartararo and the intention was to pass him, but then I saw a crash, the next lap another and in the one after that another. At that point I sensed there had to be something and I chose not to have to push too hard. Partly because of the many crashes, and partly because every time I got to the straight I was trying to pass Fabio and therefore I didn't see the board very well, I didn't know what position I was in anymore. On the last lap I didn't know we were third and fourth, I actually thought we were sixth and seventh. That's also why I avoided taking chances. It's a shame because we missed the podium by 50 thousandths. However, I look positively at the result and at having managed the race intelligently."
With regrets for not having given the finishing stroke, the 38-year-old revealed jokingly, "I only found out the finishing order when I got to the pit and everyone was happy. Maybe I need to go to the eye doctor because I am getting old."
Analyzing in detail the wettest sections of the track, the Sabadell rider said, "Turn 5 above all, but also turn 8 and 3 where Espargaro slipped, then where Marquez crashed. It was lighter there, but still some water was there. That was another reason why overtaking was more complicated. The risk was to end up in the wet. Too percolating? It's normal to be if you don't have time to study the track beforehand. We, however, performed well."
After Friday's day he had spoken of a big difference between the two bikes tested in the sessions held. "This morning we changed much of the version that was not working and they can guarantee that it is better, however we are still learning. What will I do in the warm up? I will not try anything new lasting just ten minutes. I will only try to understand the circuit conditions."
Does an expert from a different era of MotoGP like races as short as Sprints?
"You have to be very focused, because one small mistake is enough to be out of the game. Today I had Fabio as a reference, but in the same way I tried to keep my own line, also because of the difference between Yamaha and KTM. He was very aggressive in braking, as Bagnaia had been last year. Also because of this I was not able to intercept the right moment to attack. Definitely recovering positions is better than the other way around. Did I learn anything on the development front? Being in the group means experiencing a lot of turbulence that is not there in testing. At the same I noticed a different behavior of the tires."
The good news for Dani came after the race. Due to tire pressure being too low, Quartararo was penalized and he promoted to third place.
Automatic Translation by DeepL
