After a heart-wrenching press conference on the eve of the German Grand Prix in Sachsenring, Dani Pedrosa has announced his retirement from MotoGP.

Reluctantly, this decision was deemed the best option from the eyes of Pedrosa after it was revealed that his services were to be terminated post 13 years with the Repsol Honda Team in the premier class. The 32 year old Spaniard has completed 18 years with Honda over his career and seems to have gained many positive memories and achievements.

Although Pedrosa was linked to many different teams during contemplation of Honda’s move, grid spots were being taken rapidly at the beginning of the ‘silly season’. This left an open spot at the new  Petronas backed Yamaha team to be his best option, if his aspirations lead him to stay in MotoGP. However, it was rumored that the current Honda rider was not short of options from classes elsewhere- like you would imagine with a man of such talent. Catalunya saw his home round bring a press conference and many intrigued journalists to the HRC hospitality, however, embarrassingly revealed no announcement was to be made on his future like he had originally intended.

After many rounds of speculation and a tumble in results from the popular Spaniard, another press conference was called on the eve of the German GP to announce his plans for the future. The room full of many people who admired the career of Pedrosa and who were saddened to see his decision to leave the sport finalised. The announcement echoed the conference room and this is what he had to say...

“Next year I will not compete in the championship. This means I will finish my career in MotoGP this season,” Pedrosa said. 

“This is a decision I’ve thought about for a long time and it’s a hard decision because this is the sport I love. But despite having good opportunities to keep racing, I feel like I don’t live racing with the same intensity as before and I now have different priorities in my life.”

I would like to thank Dani Pedrosa for his incredible talent he has shared with the viewers of MotoGP over his career and wish him the best of luck for the future...