On the 8 April 2001, a talented young boy called Dani Pedrosa took to the grid for the first time in his life for a Motorcycle World Championship test session. It was at the Suzuka circuit in Japan, and at only just fifteen years of age, this shy young man faced the best riders in the world in the 125cc class for the first time. Nine years later, this coming Sunday, the Repsol rider will celebrate – at the controls of his Honda RC212V wearing the Repsol colours-, 150 Motorcycle World Championship races, in which, by his own merits, he has become one of the main favourites amongst the elite in the world of two wheels: the MotoGP World Championship.
Ten years has passed since that debut at the controls of a Honda RS125, and five since joining the official team of the golden wing brand in the premier-class, the Repsol-Honda Team. Selected by Alberto Puig at a national promotional cup, both began on a journey together which has taken Pedrosa to the highest echelons of motorcycling – MotoGP -, always riding bikes from the Hamamatsu factory and winning a well-deserved place amongst the best Spanish riders of all time.Dani has won three world championship titles, 31 victories and 80 podiums and has finished on the podium more than half the times he has competed, establishing a track record which has also seen him as runner-up in the world in the premier-class and finishing a further two championships in the top 3 of the MotoGP standings.Since his arrival in the World Championships, Pedrosa dazzled with his talent in the lower classes, becoming one of the leaders of a fresh-faced generation, a group of riders who at just fifteen, arrived into the Motorcycle World Championships coming from different promotional cups and national championships, displaying an innate talent for riding motorbikes.He did not take long to beat precocious records, making himself the youngest rider in history to compete in a World Championship and also into the youngest Spanish rider to win a podium and be declared World Champion of 125cc. In 2004, after experiencing the hell of injuries with a fracture in both ankles, he unquestionably recovered to secure victory in his first race in 250cc, becoming the youngest rider to rise to the highest echelons of the 250cc class. However, he also became the youngest Champion in history of 250cc, the youngest to win two championships consecutively in two different categories and the youngest to win three world championships in a row.With this track record, Dani Pedrosa started 2006 in the premier-class, where he took the second step on the podium in only his second race, and in his fourth, achieved his first victory. Consequently, he became the second youngest rider in history to win in the premier-class, behind Freddie Spencer and tied with Norifumi Abe. In his first year he fought to the end for a title which was finally won by his then team-mate in the Repsol Honda Team, Nicky Hayden, and in the three seasons following, he was always one of the front runners.This season, having only turned 24 last September, he is, after Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi, Marco Melandri y Randy De Puniet, one of the MotoGP riders with most World Championship races under his belt: none less than 150 when the French Grand Prix starts next Sunday. A long journey in which he has missed several meetings due to injury – the last two of 2003 after being Champion of 125cc, or that of Laguna Seca in 2008 – a long journey which has not prevented the Repsol rider from shining season after season with his boundless talent, nor lose enthusiasm to make his dreams a reality: to be World Champion of MotoGP.Statistics:World Championships: 3 (125cc in 2003; 250cc in 2004 y 2005) Races: 149 (46 in 125cc, 32 in 250cc, y 71 in MotoGP)Victories: 31 (8 125cc, 15 in 250cc, 8 in MotoGP)Podiums: 80 (17 in 125cc, 24 in 250cc, 39 in MotoGP)Pole positions: 32 (9 in 125cc, 9 in 250cc, 14 in MotoGP) First Grand Prix: 2001Japanese Grand Prix, SuzukaFirst Pole Position: 2002 Japanese Grand PrixFirst podium: 2001 Valencian Grand PrixFirst victory: 2002 Dutch Grand Prix
