During the exchange, the Catalan explained in great detail to the Italian the strategy he followed to finally master riding in the wet after years of struggle, crashes and injuries.<\/p>\n
Unlike most riders on today\u2019s grid, Pedrosa would only train on a motorcycle when he felt he needed it, preferring to spend his day-to-day training time in the gym or out on a bicycle. That routine changed, however, after the crash he suffered in the 2008 German Grand Prix, on a track soaked by rain while he was leading the field.<\/p>\n
The #26 had just completed the fifth lap and had already opened a gap of more than seven seconds over Stoner, a specialist in those conditions. It was a huge advantage for the Spaniard, who lost the front at the end of the straight and crashed heavily into the barriers, injuring his arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight there I told myself: enough! In the wet I didn\u2019t really understand where the limit was,\u201d Pedrosa told \u2018Il Dottore\u2019, who listened intently. \u201cI decided I had to do something to improve because I thought I was always losing championships because of wet races. So one rainy day I took my supermotard bike and went to a karting track,\u201d explained the rider from Castellar del Valles (Barcelona), who at the time was following the guidance of Alberto Puig – his agent and now Honda\u2019s team manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the first lap I crashed. Then I tried to warm up the tyres, went out again and \u2014 boom! \u2014 crashed again. That\u2019s when I realised it was impossible to understand anything because karting asphalt is very smooth. So, Alberto and I started thinking about what we could do,\u201d continued the three-time world champion in the 125cc (2003) and 250cc (2004 and 2005) classes.<\/p>\n
![\"Dani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dani-pedrosa-red-bull-ktm-fact.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Dani Pedrosa, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing<\/p>\n
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ LAT Images \/ via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Puig lives in the hills above Barcelona, although he spends a lot of time at a family farmhouse in Cardedeu, on the outskirts of the city \u2014 an area surrounded by hills connected by winding roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever Alberto saw that a rainy day was coming, he\u2019d call me and I\u2019d head over there. We\u2019d both put on our leathers and rain gear, take some money for fuel, and go riding. Up the road, down the road, one behind the other,\u201d recalled Pedrosa, now a test rider for KTM, who retired from full-time racing in 2018 after 13 seasons in the premier class \u2014 all with Honda \u2014 recording three runner-up finishes (2007, 2010 and 2012) and 31 victories.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom that moment on, I made the change, and I started getting podiums and even a win in the wet,\u201d Pedrosa concluded.<\/p>\n
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