Pedrosa third on carbon fibre chassis, ‘knew Marc was waiting for me’

The MotoGP Legend threatened to repeat his Jerez feat of being fastest in opening practice, using his testing knowledge to lead much of FP1 before being pushed to a late sixth.

But while morning leader and fellow wild-card Michele Pirro (Ducati) slipped down to 19th in the afternoon, Pedrosa more than held his own against the MotoGP regulars, rising to third.

“Very good day,” said Pedrosa. “First and second practice went really well. We had many laps on track. both bikes running well and our lap times were good.

“I’d say the last part of 2nd practice was a bit more unknown for me. I didn’t know what to expect for ‘qualifying mode’. I just tried to get used to go for many tyres on the rear and trying to get best lap time possible for Q2.

“That went also very well. I’m happy to be directly in Q2. There are a few corners we can still improve a bit.”

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The Spaniard was coy about the new carbon fibre chassis, a material not used for a MotoGP frame since Ducati in 2011.

“Yes, we are using a different chassis. We’re still testing and getting the info. I can’t give you details but for sure the feeling is different,” he said.

The composite marks a leap in chassis design from the usual tubular steel frame on the RC16.

“I think [KTM] are open to new technologies and new ways. The team is working very well,” Pedrosa added.

And how long has he been developing this chassis? “A very short [time].”

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Second in the world championship Jorge Martin was among the riders to include Pedrosa as a podium contender for Saturday’s Sprint race.

“He was great. He wouldn’t come if he wasn’t fast. it’s amazing - he was first KTM, in front of me also. Really unbelievable. Let’s see tomorrow but for the Sprint, for sure he will battle for the podium,” Martin said.

VR46’s Luca Marini thinks Martin, Maverick Vinales and team-mate Marco Bezzecchi currently have the best pace, but won’t be surprised to see Pedrosa fighting at the front in qualifying and the race.

“I think Martin and Maverick showed the best pace, especially with medium rear they were amazing. Also Bez is really strong,” said Marini.

“Dani sincerely I'm not surprised because in Jerez he made a fantastic race and I expect that tomorrow he can be one of the guys that is fighting for the first row, and also in the Sprint it will be difficult to battle for him, because he accelerates in an unbelievable way and they are working really well with KTM.

“Now KTM is one of the best bikes with Ducati and Aprilia. These three manufacturers are working a lot and pushing each other a lot for the development for the next year.”

Pedrosa had also towed former Repsol Honda team-mate Marc Marquez to sixth place in the afternoon.

“He followed me once, saw how I was riding, and I knew he was going to be waiting for my last tyre, to go with me,” Pedrosa said.

“We started together, I tried to keep going with my pace because my goal was to push with the [new] tyres.

“I knew he was behind and he’d use my wheel to do his best time. But I was just focussed ahead.”

Pedrosa was the only KTM rider in the top eight with Brad Binder in ninth, Pol Espargaro eleventh, Jack Miller 17th and Augusto Fernandez 23rd.