Dani Pedrosa

Daniel Pedrosa took the world by storm when he came onto the scene of International motorbike racing. The Spaniard was the youngest ever world champion in the 125cc and the 250cc class.

'Dani', as he was called, started riding bikes at the tender age of 4. His first bike being an Italiet 50, with side wheels and was just a learner model. His first racing bike was a MiniBike replica of a Kawasaki. He got this at the age of six and used it to race his friends. Pedrosa was involved in serious racing, for the first time, at the age of 11. He entered the Spanish MiniBike championships and ended his debut season in second place. He scored his first podium finish in just his second race of the season. He was back next year, looking to win the entire thing, but health issues meant that he couldn't better his second place standing. He ended the season third.

Dani made his World Championship debut, in the 125cc class, in 2001. He was selected after his performance at the Movistar Activa Cup, a series specially created to provide upcoming talent with a stage to get noticed. Alberto Puia guided Pedrosa as he took two podium finishes in his very first season. His first win came in 2002 and resulted in a third place finish in the championships. He changed all that in 2003 and at the age of 18, became the youngest ever to win the 125cc championships. He scored five wins and six podium finishes to finish the championship battle with two rounds to go. A week after winning the championships, he broke his ankles in a crash during practice and sat out for the remainder of the season.

After his tremendous record breaking performance at the 125cc level, Pedrosa moved up into the 250cc class. Since his ankles were healing in the off season, he was unable to get a decent test ride on a 250cc machine. So he went into the first race of the season without any actual practice on the bike. Not only did he win his first race, he won the entire championship. He won seven races that year and finished on the podium 13 times. He, for obvious reasons, bagged the 'Rookie of the Year' award in 2004. In 2005, he somehow found a way to better his performance. Despite a shoulder injury, Dani won 8 races in the season and had 14 podium finishes. Again, he had the title with two rounds to go. Dani was prolific and it showed in the hunger he had for the big stage. He was the youngest to ever win the 250cc class as well.

In 2006, Dani moved up to the 990cc MotoGP series, still with the Honda team. He wasn't expected to succeed with a small wiry frame. The bike was said to be too heavy for him but Dani had other plans.

He came second in just the second round of his very first season, taking everybody by surprise. He won his maiden MotoGP race in the fourth round of the season, in Shanghai. He won another race at Donington, later that year and was becoming a candidate for the championships in his very first season.

Dani was second in the title chase until he suffered a crash in Sepang, during free practice. Although he went on to take third place despite his knee rendering him immobile, his form dropped after that round.

Dani was out of the Championship race but he did allow team mate Nicky Hayden to run away with the title. His first season finished with Dani on the podium, in third place, overall along with the title of 'Rookie of the Year'.
In 2007, Dani had a wonderful second season. He took two wins and 8 podium finishes on his way to second place in the championships, just behind Casey Stoner. Dani has shown that he is definitely a title contender and can hold his own amongst the best. He will be looking to make amends as his 2008 season gets underway and would definitely look to increase his wins' tally on his way to a Championship medal.