Get Wildcard Facilities, Dani Pedrosa And Pol Espargaro Will Perform KTM Defense In Two MotoGP Series

JAKARTA - MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaro driver are confirmed to be competing as a regional card for the Red Bull KTM factory team in the two MotoGP series this season.

Quoted from the team's official statement, Saturday, Pedrosa will race in the fourth round of this season, the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on April 26-28. Meanwhile, Espargaro will participate in the seventh round of the Italian MotoGP at Mugello, on May 31-1 June.

Pedrosa, who amazed fans with his performances at Jerez and Misano in 2023, will return to racing this year, at the de Jerez Circuit Angel Nieto in the next two weeks.

Pedrosa finished sixth in Sprint and seventh in a year-old race at Jerez, just six seconds behind the Grand Prix winner.

"I had fun at Jerez last year and the welcome from the fans was amazing. We all know Jerez is a special place," Pedrosa said.

The rider, who retired from MotoGP in 2018, said he and the KTM manufacturer team had conducted a training session on an RC16 motorbike and were confident that they could adapt well at the end of the month.

"For us, it's also important to use some references for our testing and put it in the race environment again. This is the main reason to compete in 2024," said the 38-year-old.

Meanwhile, Espargaro, who is currently undergoing his first year as a KTM tester, is eager to return to one of the fastest and most beautiful circuits in the MotoGP world championships this season.

KTM set the current MotoGP high speed record at 366.1kpm (227mph) at Mugello and Espargaro had a pretty good record.

"It's great to be racing again and especially at Mugello, which is a very special place to ride a MotoGP bike. It would be great to be able to return to the grid with friends," said Espargaro.

The younger brother of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) continued, trials with KTM have been going well, so he is very motivated to return to the track.

"Testing has been going very well and I am very motivated. I am more like my former self after injury in 2023. I look forward to getting back to family MotoGP and showing that our tests are strong and fast," he explained.