You are here

The small size Daniel Holgado: Why he is not afraid of the MotoGP class

Even at only 167 cm tall, he feels well prepared for the MotoGP World Championship. "I don't think Loris Capirossi is any taller either. And Dani Pedrosa is only 1.58 meters tall - and still a legend. Dani is very small, but he is incredibly fast on the motorcycle".

MotoGP: The small size Daniel Holgado: Why he is not afraid of the MotoGP class

Daniel Holgado (Red Bull Tech3-KTM) gambled away a 41-point lead in the 2023 Moto3 World Championship due to arm pump. In 2024, he lost the title fight against Alonso with 356 to 421 points. Now he is moving up to Moto2 - and is already thinking about MotoGP.
 
The talented Spaniard Daniel Holgado led the Moto3 World Championship in the first half of 2023 in Hervé Poncharal's Red Bull KTM Tech3 team - and then clearly lost the title fight. In 2024, the KTM rider once again competed as a serious Moto3 World Championship title contender, but his performance could not match the amazing results of the all-powerful David Alonso from the Aspar CFMOTO team - despite Dani's two season wins, six second places and one third place.

In 2025, Holgado will return to the Aspar team and move up to the Moto2 class.

"A year ago, I thought carefully about what I should do in 2024. I finally decided to do another Moto3 season. Red Bull, KTM and Tech3 helped me a lot with this decision. My bosses Pit Beirer and Hervé Poncharal and I agreed that another year in Moto3 was the best solution for me. I was still only 19 and at an age where I could wait another year before changing classes.“

But like all ambitious top riders, Holgado has long had his sights set on the premier class. In 2023, Holgado lost his huge 41-point lead in the last Moto3 races and even failed to score any points in some races, such as the Catalunya and San Marino GPs. The world championship leader from the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team for example roared off from eighth place on the grid in Misano 2023 and was initially directly behind the eventual winner David Alonso, but then dropped back place and place. Ten laps before the checkered flag, he even lost his position within the top ten. In the end, it was only enough for a disappointing 16th place. Holgado had already come away empty-handed in Barcelona eight days earlier.
 
It was only after this setback that team boss Poncharal revealed the truth to GPOne.com. "Dani has been suffering from 'arm pump' problems in both forearms since the Texas GP in April," reported Red Bull Tech3 team owner Hervé Poncharal. "We then wanted him to have an operation before the Jerez GP, but he was of the opinion that he could keep these problems under control."
 
In fact, Holgado had started the 2023 season strongly with a win in Portimão and fourth place in Argentina. Then came 5th and 6th place in Texas and Jerez, before he came out on top again with two wins in Le Mans and Mugello. Then came 3rd place in Saxony and the crash in Assen. With 3rd and 2nd place in Silverstone and Spielberg, former Moto3 Junior World Champion Holgado regained hope, but he was seen several times after training with a huge ice pack on his forearms.
 

But even after 16th place in Misano, the brave Holgado kept his complaints to himself. "It was a difficult race. I didn't feel good at all," he said. The Tech3 protégé continued to lose ground in the 2023 World Championship. "The complaints got better in the autumn, but I always had problems in the last laps of the race," Holgado said at the time and asked the questioner to touch his right forearm. It felt as hard as a rock.
 
Holgado postponed the date of the inevitable operation with Dr. Mir continued in Barcelona and did not have the procedure performed until November 30, 2023, after the World Championship finale. Tech3 team owner Hervé Poncharal did not put any pressure on his rider in this regard. The Frenchman regretted, however, that Holgado may have lost the World Championship because of arm pump.
 

Now the next challenge awaits the enthusiastic motocross rider Holgado with the Moto2 World Championship. His long-term goal, however, remains the MotoGP World Championship. His not too imposing stature at 1.68 m does not worry him for the premier class. But will these body measurements not be a disadvantage one day in Moto2 or MotoGP?
 
"I am 1.68 meters tall. Well, maybe only 1.67," says the always friendly and popular Daniel Holgado after a moment's thought. The GPOne.com reporter is 196 cm tall and suggested: "Dani, I could give you 10 cm." The Spaniard replied with a smile: "Good, I can use it."
 
"My plan is of course to switch to MotoGP soon after Moto2," emphasised Holgado, the 2021 Moto3 Junior World Champion. At the time, he rode a GASGAS in Aspar Martinez's junior team, won five races - and left Ortolá, Muñoz and Kelso clearly behind. In the same year, Dani secured third place overall in the Red Bull Rookies Cup.
 
What is the biggest motorcycle that the 2024 Moto3 World Championship runner up has ridden in a racetrack training session so far? "I have a 600cc for training at home," said Holgado. "I use it on a karting circuit. I think I would have been ready for Moto2 already a year ago because of that. But I wanted to wait for the ideal time to switch. The experience is very important.“

Holgado, born on April 27, 2005 in Alicante, is not overly worried about switching to the hard fought MotoGP category.

Even at only 167 cm tall, he feels well prepared for the MotoGP World Championship. "I don't think Loris Capirossi is any taller either. And Dani Pedrosa is only 1.58 meters tall - and still a legend. Dani is very small, but he is incredibly fast on the motorcycle. I don't think my height will be a problem." Then Dani points to his right hand, the hand that presses the imaginery throttle. "That’s what is crucial," he grins.
 
In addition, today the run-off areas are mostly covered with asphalt - partly because of car races. The risk of sinking into the gravel and not being able to support oneself with one's feet has therefore been drastically reduced for the riders.

Related articles

 
 
Privacy Policy