Daniel Pedrosa (born September 29, 1985 in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain), often known as Dani Pedrosa, Pedrosa, or just Dani is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Pedrosa grew up in a village near Sabadell called Castellar del Vallès. He is the youngest world champion in 125cc and 250cc Grands Prix. Pedrosa stands 1.58m (5ft, 2in) tall and weighs 47kg (104lbs). September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... Sabadell is one of the largest cities in the comarca (similar to the UK counties) of Vallès Occidental in Catalonia. ... Capital Barcelona Official languages Catalan and Spanish In Val dAran, also Aranese. ... Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier category of motorcycle road racing, currently divided into three engine displacement classes: 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP (up to 990cc). ...

Racing history

In 2001, Pedrosa made his World Championship debut in the 125cc class after being selected from the Movistar Activa Cup, a series designed to promote fresh racing talent in Spain, back in 1999. Under the guidance of Alberto Puig, Pedrosa scored two podium finishes in the first season and won his first race the following year, when he finished third in the championship. In 2003, he won five races and won the championship with two rounds remaining. A week after winning the championship, eighteen year old Pedrosa broke both of his ankles in a practice crash at Phillip Island (Australia), ending his season. After winning the 125cc Championship, Pedrosa moved up to the 250cc class in 2004 without a proper test on the new bike because his ankles were healing during the off-season. Going into the season unprepared, Pedrosa won the first race in South Africa and went on to clinch the 250cc World Championship title, including rookie of the year honours. He would take a second title in 250cc in 2005.

Pedrosa made the move to 990cc MotoGP bikes in 2006, still riding for Honda. Critics said that Pedrosa wasn't big enough or strong enough to successfully race MotoGP. He finished second in the opening round at Jerez on March 26, 2006. During his fourth ever MotoGP appearance, on May 14, 2006, during the Chinese Grand Prix held in Shanghai, he won his first MotoGP race. Circuito Permante de Jerez is a 2. ...