Talented young men with arrogant mentors. The result is typically damage to the career of the youngster. Unfortunately, it appears the Alberto Puig/Dani Pedrosa relationship fits this mold. If you haven’t seen Puig’s interview given to the MotoGP.com web site, take a look here.
Leave aside for a minute the fact that Puig takes some parting shots at Nicky Hayden (Hayden hasn’t exactly hidden his dislike of Pedrosa, either), Puig essentially states Pedrosa can’t learn anything from a teammate. Indeed, Puig already dismisses Pedrosa’s future teammate Andrea Dovizioso, and flatly states the relationship will be no different with Dovizioso than it has been with Hayden (“It really won’t change much and won’t affect our way of working.”).
Pride goeth before a fall, as they say, and arrogance only hurries the prideful to the precipice. No doubt Dani Pedrosa is hugely talented, but in our opinion he needs a new mentor to reach his full potential.
