From the early years of his career, Dani Pedrosa had Alberto Puig as his manager. It was through the former rider’s guidance that Pedrosa reached the world championships and achieved his successes.
In fact, the Spaniards worked together as rider/manager until 2013, when Pedrosa was already an established member of the MotoGP grid. Now, the #26 recalled that separation on the Dura la Vita podcast:
– There are many details in everything that a separation like this entails, but the main reason is that relationships evolve to a certain point, and in our case, I needed to grow personally. Up to that point, he had taught me a lot of things. But from there, I had to follow a different path and learn them on my own.
The two reunited at Repsol Honda when Puig became team director, but at the end of 2018, there was no renewal. When asked if this was a revenge move by Puig for their earlier separation, Pedrosa replied: ‘I can’t vouch for things I don’t know. It doesn’t matter how it was; everyone has their own path, and everyone reacts or does what they have to do in life. I followed my path, learned my lessons, and if that was part of what I had to learn, then it is welcome’.