Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and Dani Pedrosa have mutually decided to part ways at the end of the 2018 MotoGP championship. The Repsol Honda team has been a second home to Pedrosa with an 18-year-old partnership, across three classes in MotoGP. The rider has been instrumental in the development of the team and the motorcycles over the years, bringing in several victories and podium finishes. However, with Pedrosa failing to deliver the numbers over the past races, the top bosses at Honda decided it was beneficial for the team to look elsewhere. HRC is now on a hunt for a new rider to replace Pedrosa who will join reigning champion Marc Marquez, and the list reportedly has some interesting names.
Pedrosa started his Grand Prix career with Honda winning the 2003 125cc and later the 2004 and 2005 250cc titles. The Spaniard joined the Honda MotoGP squad in 2006, finishing runner-up in the championship three times and winning a total of 31 premier-class races. Pedrosa also holds the third most podiums in the premier class, behind only Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini.
Speaking about ending his partnership with Honda, Dani Pedrosa said, "I want to thank HRC for all these years of great success. I have grown not only as a rider but also as a person with them. I will always have HRC in my memories and in my heart. In life we all need new challenges and I feel it's time for a change. Thanks, HRC."
The 2018 season has been by far the worst for Pedrosa. The rider missed three of the opening four races due to his arm surgery, while the recently concluded Italian GP saw the rider's worst-ever MotoGP start in 20th place. Currently, the Spaniard sits 12th in the standings with 29 points after six races, while teammate Marquez leads the championship.
Speaking about Pedrosa's departure, HRC President, Yoshishige Nomura said, "Today is a sad day for me. On behalf of HRC, I want to thank Dani for all his hard and successful work, and to express our gratitude for these two decades together. We also wish him the very best of luck and success. Thanks, Dani."
With Pedrosa's exit, there is an extremely viable position opened up at Honda, which is one of the top teams in the championship. It was believed that Johann Zarco was being considered for the position but the Tech3 Yamaha rider chose to sign up with the KTM factory team instead for the next season. The other alternatives were Moto2's Joan Mir as well as Andrea Dovizioso. However, while Dovi has been confirmed with Ducati until the end of 2020, Mir is expected to sign up with Suzuki in 2019.
Pedrosa's seat then could be taken up by Jorge Lorenzo, whose exit from Ducati is nearly confirmed by the end of this year. Lorenzo, who took his first win under Ducati at Mugello last weekend is seen as a potential teammate to Marquez. Both riders have shared a liking while in opposing teams and it's believed that Marquez won't object to the three-time world champion coming on-board.
Other names in contention include LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow, who is already riding the factory works RC213V, along with Pramac Ducati's Jack Miller and World Superbike Champion Jonathan Rea.
