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Dani Pedrosa Stays with Repsol Honda Until the End of 2018

It's a hell-breaks-loose start of the week in MotoGP as Honda Racing Corporation and Repsol Honda announce that the contract of Dani Pedrosa has been extended for two more seasons. The Spanish rider will be in the seat of the factory RC213V machine for 2017 and 2018.
Dani Pedrosa, with Repsol honda in 2017 and 2018 1 photo
Photo: motogp.com
The name of Dani Pedrosa made the headlines over the past two weeks as he has been tipped as one of the riders with excellent odds of becoming the next teammate of Valentino Rossi at Movistar Yamaha.

The second Yamaha bike became vacant after Jorge Lorenzo announced that he signed a two-year contract with Ducati. Two names were credited for having the best chances to fill that seat, that of Suzuki's Maverick Vinales and that of Dani Pedrosa. With Pedrosa now confirmed as a Honda factory rider for two more years, the entire Yamaha story has only gotten more interesting.

Despite the fact that his career in Grand Prix racing began in 2001, Dani Pedrosa is still missing a world title in the premier class. He was crowned World Champion three times, once in 2003 when he won the 125cc title, and in 2004 and 2005, when he brought Honda two 250cc titles.

Pedrosa stepped in MotoGP in 2006, and since then he managed to finish three seasons in the runner-up position (2007, 2010, and 2012) and three championships in the third position (2008, 2009, and 2013). He took 171 starts in MotoGP and has 28 victories to his name, alongside 28 second places and 35 third-best finishes. They are complemented by 28 poles and 41 fastest race laps.

Even though the MotoGP title is still missing from his panoply, Dani Pedrosa is one of the guys that have accomplished for Honda more than most others. Pedrosa, 30, has achieved more podiums for the Honda factory team than any other rider, with a total of 142, of which 51 were victories across all classes. Dani is now three race wins short of Mick Doohan's record.

Dani Pedrosa: "I’m very happy to be able to announce my renewal with the Repsol Honda Team. I’m very grateful to Honda for the trust they’ve shown in renewing with me for an additional two years. I think it’s best for me to continue with the company I was with at my very first race. I’m happy that the negotiations have been quick, and now I can just focus on racing. I want to give 100% this weekend at the Italian GP."

Shuhei Nakamoto, HRC Vice-President: "We’re very pleased to renew our contract with Dani, and we really appreciate his loyalty to Honda and HRC. We’ve been working together for many years, but we always see in Dani the same passion and dedication. His experience is very important for helping our technicians to develop our bike, and we’ll do our best to help him to demonstrate all his talent!"

As for the rider market, Dani Pedrosa's contract extension is only making things crazier, and we're eager to see how things will roll.
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