Variously credited with Dani Pedrosa’s success and failure, Alberto Puig has been “joined at the hip” with the diminutive Spanish star for nearly 15 years. Puig mentored Pedrosa to three World titles (one on a 125 and two on 250s), and carried great influence with the Honda MotoGP team when Pedrosa first entered the coveted Repsol paddock.
Although some reports indicate Puig will continue to have a role in managing Pedrosa’s contractual relations, he will no longer mentor him at the track each weekend, as Pedrosa continues to find the right magic to gain his first MotoGP title after 8 seasons in the Premier class.
Looks like Puig got a new job with HRC. He will be in charge of developing young Asian talent.
Wonder why there is no program for developing young American talent? Man, things do not look good for the future of American road racers.
Dani will always be a great racer, near the time. He is our modern version of Mamola. Great rider, just missed the big title by closest margins.
He didn’t follow the Norm script in 2006 when he was the up and coming spaniard phenom that dominated the 250’s for 2 years and was given the dream ride. Marquez was able to follow the plan and deliver the goods in 2013. (or he really is that talented/natural?)
If MM does it again next year, we will know.
re: “He didn’t follow the Norm script in 2006”
no script. mine or otherwise. we were still partying like it was 1999.
While I’ve often wondered if DP is the moto-equivalent of Reubens Barichello (terrific in their own rite, but like Mark Webber, UNlucky in always having world-beaters for ‘teammates’), I often think his truly amazing talent is keeping that HRC ride for eight years without a Championship season.
The reason he has been able to keep the ride is three fold…(1) he is always in the hunt right up until the end, (2) with 25 wins and 84 podiums in 133 starts, he has kept a lot of points (2036) out of the hands of Yamaha riders, and (3) there has been no one else available that can out ride him.
I don’t think sending Puig to the showers will help Dani gain a championship. Ever. He wrote himself a careers’ worth of bad karma by imperiously running Hayden off-track in 2006, and somehow being set-up as Honda’s golden boy. Look where that got both Honda and Pedrosa: NOWHERE.
Pedrosa is a perennial bridesmaid now. Marquez has his number; Lorenzo already got his ID card in his pocket. Time for Pedrosa to head off to a new team and eventual reitrement.
I’ve been a Pedrosa hater for years. That ice cold demeanor is tiresome. It still bugs me a little that he would shake Super Sic’s hand after a racing incident that Pedrosa himself has been guilty of through the years. Lately I’ve grown to like Dani but I have to agree with Mickey. 3rd is the best he can do if Lorenzo and Marquez are healthy. I hope he proves us wrong though. Having at least 3 championship level riders on the grid would make for some more exciting racing. Pipe dream but hopefully Rossi can make it a 4some.
BULLY FOR DAN…!!!
Mini P is too timid to be WC – can cut fast laps on clear track but will always accept 2nd in a scrap
The funny thing? That’s only a normal-sized bottle of champagne.
If it is, then the height of the uppermost horizontal guard rail is about knee height for me (6-3).
Haha, good one VLJ. Seriously, I wonder if there’s a way to change the rules so someone besides Spanish lilliputians have a chance at the title. Taller riders are usually heavier, so maybe some sort of weight thing?
Marquez winning the title in his rookie year didn’t do always-a-bridesmaid-Pedrosa’s career any favors.
Jeremy Burgess is looking for work.
He’s done OK in the sport. 😉
I am one of those rare Dani fans. Think the guy is a heck of a rider. But I’m afraid at this point he will never win a Premier Class Championship…. At least it would take a lot of luck for it to happen. Marquez is young, aggressive, unbelievably talented and on equal machinery with Pedrosa. Lorenzo is probably the most reliable rider on the planet at this stage. Unless those two run into each other and take themselves out, I’m afraid third is Dani’s lot in life now. I don’t think Rossi has it in him anymore to beat those three.. Certainly Crutchlow, Dovisioso, Bradl, or Smith can’t beat Pedrosa. So, barring accidents and injuries to Marquez and Lorenzo, he will probably be relegated to third again.
At this point in his career, I don ‘t see how Puig plays into this one way or the other. He doesn’t hurt Dani, he doesn’t help Dani.
+1, however if Dani can improve consistency, at his best he can win convincingly, I’m not sure what’s missing, but should he find it, look out.
Danny has buzzard luck. Whenever he gets close to winning it all (about every year) either he does something stupid and crashes or someone crashes him and he gets hurt. He is pretty fragile, (unlike Marquez) at 5’2″ 112 lbs, and has suffered a lot of injuries. Unless it’s just a low side, Dani is most likely making a trip to the medical center or hospital.
Lower mass means lower impact energy. Less stature means lower leverage. Smaller size equals less fragile, other things being equal.
I’m NOT a Dani fan. He is very talented and showed a lot of grit riding injured this year. I wonder if he would have had ANY success if he wasn’t on the best bike in the field. I’ve been rooting against him since his famous takeout move on a teammate in 06. He was Biaggi to Rossi as Pedrosa to Lorenzo, and now Marquez. He’ll be on a quick trip down to palookaville now. Getting rid of his mentor is the start.
Lol…. you Hayden Homers sure have a hard time letting go of a racing incident that had no bearing on the outcome of the season whatsoever.
For me it wasn’t the stupid move as much as Puig saying afterward it was Hayden’s fault. That made me a life long Puig hater and, by reflection, I’ve never been a Pedrosa fan.
Yes, due to Rossi folding under the pressure and crashing it didn’t affect the outcome but there was no way Pedrosa could have known that when he rammed Hayden. It looked a whole lot like “if I can’t win on a Honda I’ll stop him from winning on a Honda”.
Pedrosa is a very talented rider but he has made poor decisions, like submarining Hayden, since he got to MotoGP. The biggest reason Pedrosa never won the big prize was Pedrosa.
Goose
I never heard Puig say that but that was stupid. It is also false to say Pedrosa ” rammed” Hayden. Go back and watch it on you tube just type in Hayden-Pedrosa. Dani was trying to go under Hayden, but lost it before he ever got to him. He was completely flat on the ground sliding when his bike hit the back end of Haydens bike. Purely accidental. If he had done it on purpose, I’d be right there with you calling the little guy a turd, but go back and watch the incident and you’ll see it was a purely accidental racing incident that happens at least 1/2 dozen times a season. Ironically it often involves Hayden.
You’re playing word games. Pedrosa’s bike hit Hayden’s bike, the angle of Pedrosa’s bike is irrelevant.
Pedrosa made a “do or die” move against a teammate who was leading the world championship in the next to last race of the year. It doesn’t mater if it was a “take out” or a bad choice of braking points, racers with functional brains don’t do that.
Goose
Really, i’m playing word games. You are the one that intimated it was purposeful, using terms such as rammed and submarined and the phrase” It looked a whole lot like “if I can’t win on a Honda I’ll stop him from winning on a Honda”
Pedrosa was a rookie that season, riding hard and trying to impress his sponsors. He had won the Chinese G.P. And was fighting to win just lime everyone else. He made a mistake, an error in judgement, he wasn’t trying to take out Hayden, it was simply a racing incident, one that happens all the time,. When you cram a bunch of A personality athletes in a tiny space on 250 horsepower motorcycles crashes happen. Hayden won the Championship. Let it go already.
Mickey, kicking butt and taking names. Not to get on anyone’s bad side, but I think Mickey’s salient points have carried the day.
Mickey – Youthful indiscretion, over enthusiasm, and negligence due to inexperience and dumb luck ought to be forgiven and forgotten and does not justify someone so young and with such promise being branded for life as the Lance Armstrong of his sport.
Yea, that’s something I think reasonable minds can agree on.
I’m a Hayden Homer too, and I still resent that move. You don’t take out your teammate, and you certainly don’t take out your teammate when he’s battling for the championship.
At the end of the day, it’s “just racing”. Stuff happens when you push. After half a decade, or so, I’ve begun to let it go. 😉 I’m almost to the point where, with the arrival of MM, I wish for Dani that he’d had a title or two by now…
I heard Rossi believes that his tires were not consistent with what he practiced on in that final weekend.