HOHENSTEIN-ERNSTTHAL, Germany – Veteran Spanish motorcycle rider Dani Pedrosa will retire from the sport following the conclusion of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship season.
Pedrosa, who has ridden for Repsol Honda since the beginning of his premier class career in 2006, won in his fourth-ever MotoGP start during the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai and has 31 career MotoGP victories, tied for eighth on the all-time list with Eddie Lawson.
The Spaniard has endured the worst start to a season in his MotoGP career this year, ranking 12th in the drivers’ standings, and he has yet to stand on the podium through seven races.
Pedrosa’s grand prix motorcycle racing career began in 2001 in the 125cc division and spans 18 years in total, with 54 wins, 153 podiums and 49 poles combined between the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP classes.
Though he never won the season championship in the premier class, Pedrosa did win the 125cc title in 2003 and backed it up with two-straight championships in the 250cc class in 2004 and 2005.
Pedrosa’s best MotoGP points finish was second, coming in 2007, 2010 and 2012.
He made the retirement announcement during a press conference on Thursday ahead of the German Grand Prix, set to be held on Sunday at the Sachsenring.
“Next year I won’t compete in the championship; I’ll finish my career in MotoGP this season,” said Pedrosa. “It’s a decision I’ve thought about for a long time and it’s a hard decision … because this is the sport I love, but despite having good opportunities to keep racing, I feel like I don’t live racing with the same intensity as before and I now have different priorities in my life.
“I would like to express how fortunate I feel to have had this experience and these opportunities in my life; it’s been an amazing life to have been racing for such an important team and in front of all the fans,” Pedrosa added. “I achieved way more than I expected and I’m very, very proud of what I’ve done in the sport. I’ve fulfilled my dream of becoming a racer and that’s something that I didn’t expect when I was a kid watching TV, watching riders in the world championship.”
Though he rode for the premier team in the MotoGP championship, Pedrosa’s career was plagued by numerous injuries, with no less than 15 injuries in testing or on race weekends that altered the course of his racing path.
Pedrosa’s most recent injury was a fracture of the right wrist that required surgery to repair, suffered during the Argentine Grand Prix in April.
“I would have probably liked to have a more robust body,” Pedrosa noted. “I would have hoped for something that could withstand impacts better to be able to suffer fewer injuries in many situations where I had problems.
“One way or another, I’m sure injuries speed up the process to reach this point. Previously, sportsmen finished their careers much earlier than now. That’s very good, but the injuries that I had sped up the process.”
Pedrosa has only ridden Honda machinery throughout his career, with a particular nod given during the press conference to the manufacturer that gave him his big break.
“I would like to take this time to say thanks to Dorna and to Honda for giving me this opportunity way back in 1999, and to all my sponsors who’ve been with me throughout my career,” noted Pedrosa. “I would like also to say thanks to my family, and to all the fans who supported me throughout my career and through the thick and thin, who helped me sending so many messages to overcome difficult things in the past. Without all of you, I could not have done this and lived this dream.”
