Pedrosa to reveal 2019 decision ahead of Sachsenring MotoGP race
Dani Pedrosa has announced he has reached a decision regarding his MotoGP future, and will reveal his choice in a press conference at the Sachsenring a week on Thursday
Although Pedrosa has been strongly linked to the new Petronas-backed satellite Yamaha team that is set to join MotoGP in 2019, it is now thought he is considering retirement as a serious option.
The 32-year-old has made his worst start to a world championship campaign since his 125cc debut in 2001, as he has scored just 41 points in eight races - 99 fewer than his Honda team-mate Marc Marquez.
Pedrosa's best finishes this year have been a pair of fifth places at Le Mans and Barcelona, while he finished 15th in last weekend's Dutch TT at Assen.
It was confirmed last month that Pedrosa will leave the works Honda team at the end of 2018 and he will be replaced by Jorge Lorenzo.
"I have finally made a decision regarding my future," wrote Pedrosa in a statement. "I want to be able to communicate it personally and to everyone at the same time.
"Therefore, at the Sachsenring I will hold a press conference to announce it. I hope that my decision to wait until then to make it public will be respected."
Should Pedrosa decide to hang up his leathers, it would open an unexpected chance for another rider to line up alongside Franco Morbidelli on a satellite Yamaha next season.
Nieto Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista has said his chances of staying in MotoGP likely hinge on Pedrosa's decision, while KTM's Bradley Smith has also said he is targeting the ride after losing his seat at the Austrian manufacturer to Johann Zarco for 2019.
But it's possible that another Valentino Rossi protege, Moto2 race winner Lorenzo Baldassarri, could end up joining Morbidelli on the second Sepang-owned M1.
Vinales says Yamaha could still salvage 2018 MotoGP title bid
Late-race tyre wear issue holding Ducati back in MotoGP - Dovizioso
How Quartararo is evoking an absent MotoGP great in 2022
OPINION: Fabio Quartararo has seized control of the 2022 MotoGP world standings after another dominant victory as his nearest rivals faltered. And he is very much heading towards a second championship echoing how the dominator of the last decade achieved much of his success
The human importance of Marquez’s latest enforced MotoGP absence
OPINION: Marc Marquez will likely sit out the remainder of the 2022 MotoGP season to undergo a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020. It is hoped it will return him to his brilliant best after a tough start to the season without a podium to his name. But it’s the human victory that will far outweigh any future on-track success he may go on to have
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Autosport, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock left by Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. Autosport analyses what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP’s Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How Honda's praise for its 2022 MotoGP bike has turned into doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's Portugal win wasn't only vital for his MotoGP title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
How a MotoGP legend is preparing for an unexpected comeback at Goodwood
Wayne Rainey, who’s paralysed from the chest down, will ride his 1992 500cc world championship-winning bike again at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. The American motorcycle legend explains how he's preparing to thrill on his first visit to the famed hillclimb