Pedrosa will be back on the factory Honda for 2010.
While it is no surprise that Repsol Honda just announced they have resigned Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso for the 2010 season, it didn’t come nearly as easy as many may think. Despite Big Red announcing two rounds prior that they were sticking with both riders and deals were in place, Pedrosa was since been seriously courted by the other Big Red – Ducati. Due to their fear of what star rider Casey Stoner’s future may hold, the Italian GP team has been openly fishing for big-name proven winners for several weeks now, first offering Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo uber-money, then most recently courting Pedrosa with the same offer. But it would appear blood is thicker than money – or maybe good bikes are thicker than money. Either way, both appear to be scared they won’t be competitive on the hard-to-ride Ducati and have turned down the big payday. This means Dani is officially staying with Honda and Jorge with Yamaha, leaving Ducati to hope and pray that when Stoner returns he will be as fast as when he left…
Courtesy Honda…
HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) is delighted to confirm today that Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have re-signed for the factory Honda MotoGP team. After the basic agreement announced by HRC at the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, the details of the contracts have duly been finalized and both riders signed at the Misano World Circuit during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend.
Pedrosa has agreed a one-year extension to his contract which will see the 23-year-old Spaniard riding for the factory Honda squad for a fifth consecutive season. Dovizioso has signed a deal with HRC for 2010 with options to extend for 2011. With this young and talented pairing, HRC is convinced it has the rider line-up needed to recapture the MotoGP world championship title.
Tetsuo Suzuki, HRC President
“We are very pleased that both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have re-signed for the factory Honda team and we have total confidence that these two riders possess the talent to help us fight for the MotoGP World Championship. They both have long and successful careers with Honda in Grand Prix racing and we are happy this partnership will continue. Although we have struggled this season, we will continue the challenge until the very last Grand Prix. Since this year is the 50th anniversary of the start of Honda’s participation in the World Championships, we must remind ourselves once again that Honda has been striving to compete at the top level in the world since the day of its founding. As HRC we will, of course, reinforce the development of our machine, and together with every team member, we will continue to fight with Honda’s challenging spirit in our hearts.”
Dani Pedrosa
“This new agreement with HRC is great news for me and I’m very pleased to be staying with the team that I’ve ridden for since 2006. We have now established an effective way of working and I’m confident that we can become even more competitive in the future. The target has always been to win the world championship and that of course stays the same. We have proved before that we can be the fastest and beat the best in the world, and I still believe we can get to a level where we are challenging for that at every race. That is what the whole team must work towards. HRC has a very impressive racing heritage and I still have confidence that they can produce a bike that can win the world championship.”
Andrea Dovizioso
“I’m very happy to be continuing with HRC in the factory Honda team. The experience of being involved with such a prestigious team has been very important for me and, as soon as we began discussing the future, my target was to continue with Honda. My first year as a factory rider has taught me a lot. I’m confident that with the direction we’ve agreed for machine development we can reach a level where we are fighting for victory every Sunday. Honda is a company that has achieved huge racing success and there are a lot of very talented and passionate people behind this effort. I’m sure we have the potential to fight for the world title.”
