After his stellar reappearance at the Styrian Grand Prix , Dani Pedrosa has been entered again by KTM for a second wild card in the MotoGP World Championship, specifically at the San Marino Grand Prix , which takes place in four weeks in Misano , a possibility that was already contemplated.
In addition to Pedrosa , the guest list for that event includes HRC test drivers, German Stefan Bradl , and Ducati’s Italian Michele Pirro .
Obviously, the official registration as a guest can be canceled at any time, but the fact of having done it is a clear indication that KTM would have once again convinced Pedrosa to get on the RC16 for the second time after his retirement, in November 2018.
(Before reading on, click on the image to see all the photos of Dani Pedrosa’s reappearance at the 2021 MotoGP Styrian GP)
Before the Grand Prix, the three riders will meet (August 31 and September 1) on the Adriatic track for a test of testers, in which Aprilia will also be with, on paper, Andrea Dovizioso , although that could change.
Noale ‘s house remains cautious about which pilot will take part in the aforementioned tests. “At the moment Dovizioso is scheduled to go, but right now we are evaluating all the options,” Aprilia replied to Motorsport.com ‘s question.
Viñales enters the scene
The options for Aprilia have now changed, with the termination of the contract between Maverick Viñales and Yamaha, and the announcement by the Japanese house that it will give the rider freedom to face his immediate future. The head of the team, Massimo Rivola , is pushing the Catalan rider to get on the RS-GP as soon as possible.
The first step will be to take part in the Misano test rider test to prepare for his debut with Aprilia at the Aragón Grand Prix , which takes place on September 12.
Although Rivola already wanted Maverick to make his debut at Silverstone next week, the rider prefers to remain a bit cautious and first test in Misano at the end of August and then decide when to reappear in a weekend of careers.
Once the step has been taken, Aprilia will have to make the decision to register Viñales as the regular rider together with Aleix Espargaró , which would mean the loss of Lorenzo Savadori , or on the contrary, to maintain the current pairing and use the six wild cards available the team to give entrance to Viñales .
This second option would mean a significant additional economic cost, in addition to the need to produce two new complete motorcycles, a capacity that right now for Aprilia is a huge effort.
