Dani Pedrosa says he and Jorge Lorenzo quietly teamed up to take on Casey Stoner

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How Stoner’s Arrival Shifted the Pedrosa-Lorenzo Dynamic in MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa has explained how Casey Stoner’s rise in MotoGP reshaped his ongoing rivalry with Jorge Lorenzo, giving them both a new focus.

Pedrosa admits that his relationship with Lorenzo was always very “complicated” during the early phases of their respective careers, given that the Spaniards had been rivals since their youth. But Stoner emerging on the scene then gave Pedrosa and Lorenzo a “common rival”.

Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner ultimately became two of the famous five ‘aliens’ of MotoGP in the late 2000s and early 2010s with Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. They were a tour de force that dominated MotoGP, having been a cut above everyone else on the grid each year.

Stoner joined LCR Honda for his debut season while Pedrosa stepped up to Honda’s main team after consecutive titles in the 250cc class. Lorenzo didn’t make his premier class debut until 2008, when he signed with Yamaha’s factory team.

Casey Stoner’s rise to the top in MotoGP gave Pedrosa and Lorenzo a “common rival”

Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images

During his racing days, Pedrosa often got under Stoner’s skin with how he used the rear brake, especially at tracks like Lusail in Qatar. On the flip side, Stoner admitted he “could not” match Lorenzo’s consistency, noting that the Spaniard was exceptional at finding the limit and staying there.

Lorenzo also spoke highly of Stoner and Pedrosa’s natural instincts on track, calling them two of the most instinctive riders he ever competed against. Despite this mutual respect, their rivalry still pushed both men to find common ground when it came to facing Stoner.