Having just re-signed Dani Pedrosa (Spanish) and Andrea Dovizioso (Italian), Honda has pledged that both riders will receive equal status on the Repsol factory MotoGP team next year.
In the past, there were numerous suggestions that Pedrosa’s team mates, such as was the case with Nicky Hayden, were being marginalized and the bike developed to suit the Spanish rider on this Spanish-owned, managed and sponsored team.
Even though Honda has always played down such inferences, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) Vice-president Shuhei Nakamoto felt obligated to insist that Dovizioso is not regarded as a number two rider and will play an equal role with Pedrosa in developing the 2010 machine.
Moreover, Nakamoto San also announced a change in status for Alberto Puig, Pedrosa's high-profile manager, who has been a source of discord in the past by influencing decisions as to which rider would get new parts. "Puig will stay with the team, but his role will change," he said. "He will have an organizational role; he will organize Dani's staff, but he will not deal with technical issues.”
In the past, there were numerous suggestions that Pedrosa’s team mates, such as was the case with Nicky Hayden, were being marginalized and the bike developed to suit the Spanish rider on this Spanish-owned, managed and sponsored team.
Even though Honda has always played down such inferences, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) Vice-president Shuhei Nakamoto felt obligated to insist that Dovizioso is not regarded as a number two rider and will play an equal role with Pedrosa in developing the 2010 machine.
Moreover, Nakamoto San also announced a change in status for Alberto Puig, Pedrosa's high-profile manager, who has been a source of discord in the past by influencing decisions as to which rider would get new parts. "Puig will stay with the team, but his role will change," he said. "He will have an organizational role; he will organize Dani's staff, but he will not deal with technical issues.”