~ Auto Buzz ~: ON THE RECORD: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda MotoGP Rider Three-time world champion has returned from risky arm-pump surgery to win two of the last three races. Will he do it again this weekend in Valencia?

One of the strengths of the Honda is you can trust the bike. You can feel the limit. You maybe cannot go over it but you can stay there. We still struggle with the bike—we tried many things, except the things we couldn’t—but in the last races we’ve been strong. The team has been on the top and that’s good motivation. Honda is known for its power. Yamaha is known for cornering. We have to play our cards and the power is on the center of the tire, not the edge. The more time we spend on the edge in the turns, the slower we go. We should stay there longer, but if we do that we lose time. The edge is the same, but the way you put your body will determine the speed you can carry through this edge. When you want a chocolate, you know you can take it, but you must stay away—it’s so hard. Motegi was like this. You can go, but in the end, you don’t last. I was saving, saving, saving. I could see Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso pulling away. I wanted to give it full gas, but in the end my strategy paid off.

MotoGP is extremely hard physically. One of the mentally hardest moments was to keep the faith. You can believe in something, you can trust yourself, but for how long? My experience with Nicky Hayden was interesting because his riding style is opposite of mine. When I worked with him, I was a rookie. I brought with me a style from 250, and I didn’t know much about MotoGP. In a group, I was ineffective. But riding on my own, I could be fast. Nicky was doing the same thing with a completely different style. Nicky is not afraid to work. That’s what I learned from him. The riding style, the strategy, and the way of overtaking depend on the tires. A rider wants everything: warm up, durability, grip, and safety. We want a tire that works in hot and cold, in the morning and in the afternoon. Next year with all the changes on the rules—electronics and tires—we have to do a super job. We have to make things right, as much as we can.

I think the biggest change next year will be about strategy—how you plan your practice, how you save your tires, how you attack the lap time and the race. Always we go forward. The key of human is evolution. Today I do this like this, and tomorrow I will teach somebody and he will have my knowledge plus his way of seeing. Career Highlights: Dani Pedrosa 1997 - 3rd Spanish Pocket Bike Championship 1998 - Spanish Pocket Bike Champion 1999 - 8th MoviStar Activa Joven Honda Cup 2000 - 4th 125cc Spanish Championship – Honda 2001 - 8th 125cc World Championship – Honda 2002 - 3rd 125cc World Championship – Honda 2003 - 3rd 125cc World Championship – Honda 2003 - 1st 250cc World Championship – Honda 2004 - 1st 250cc World Championship – Honda 2004 - 5th MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2005 - 1st 250cc World Championship – Honda 2006 - 5th MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2007 - 2nd MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2008 - 3rd MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2009 - 3rd MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2010 - 2nd MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2011 - 4th MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2012 - 2nd MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2013 - 3rd MotoGP World Championship – Honda 2014 - 4th MotoGP World Championship – Honda