Dani Pedrosa - Will he ever win the coveted Moto GP Crown?

Dani Pedrosa is regarded as one of Spain's hottest talents when it comes to motorsport. He has won the 125CC Moto GP championship, and then went on to become the youngest ever 250CC champion when it won consecutive titles in 2004 and 2005. The Repsol Honda factory team quiclky snapped him up to race along side American Nicky Hayden, and big things were expected of him. Inevitably, he delivered, scoring his first premier class victory in his forth outing in China and then going on to win the British GP before finishing his debut season an impressive fifth. Since then, he is now in his fifth season with the Repsol Honda team, and despite constantly being up there, fighting for victories, he has somehow failed to secure the title...So what's going wrong?

Dani is know for his lightening starts, and every time the race gets going, you can put your money on the Spaniard going into the first corner, leading. But then after a few laps, his pace starts to lay off. The Honda is the fastest bike in a straight line by far, as seen last season when Pedrosa made mincemeat of Rossi's Yamaha on the home straight in China. However, he has had troubles in the past with the handling of the bike, and more importantly, the tyre degrading situation.

In the 2008 and 2009 pre-season sessions, Pedrosa crashed heavily thus handicapping his ability to get to grips with the new bike. This meant that in both years, he missed developmental testing. 2008 wasn't so bad as he scored a podium in the first round, but in 2009 he finished a mediocre 11th place. Dani is only 5ft 2" in height, so is a light rider which may be seen as an advantage to some, but to others it's easier to be thrown off the bike. This has been proved in many rounds, where he has been in a high position, only to crash the bike. Prime example was last year(2010) when, in leading by a country mile in the heavily wet Japanese GP, he dropped the bike into turn one and it eventually turned out that he had suffered a Four-fragment chip fracture of the left collarbone and a Grade 1 ankle sprain. In fact, over the course of his whole Moto GP career(including 125 & 250cc classes), he has picked up 10 injuries whilst racing on track, including pre-season. That's far too much for a young lad who wants to win the championship one year. Pedrosa just can't seem to be consistent enought to win races and finish inside the top 4-5 each season, he always seems to have a fall/crash which will knock his confidence.

Saying that though, there is no question that he has the ability to do it, and when he's on it, there is no stopping him. Has he got the talent? Of course!

Has he got the motivation? Undoubtedly

Can he win the Moto GP championship? Yes, I think so. As long as the Repsol Honda factory keep producing a fast reliable competitor, he is more than capable of it. He just needs to stay focused from start to end. This season also, he has the helpful hand of Casey Stoner(2007 World Champion) alongside him along with last years partner, Andrea Dovisioso as Honda run a 3-man team. This will pressure Dani a little as Stoner knows what it takes to win a championship, but it'll be in a good way and having Casey in the garage will only further thier talents more.