Avoiding the treacherous damp patches had been key to KTM wild-card Dani Pedrosa riding from 16th to a shock top three - after a penalty for Fabio Quartararo - in the Jerez MotoGP Sprint race.

But the home hero’s luck ran out in Sunday’s gr𒈔and prix, when he was caught out by a lingering damp patch when entering Turn 🔜8 on lap 3.

“I made a good start and recovered some positions,” sai꧟d Pedrosa, wh♈o was in twelfth place.

“I was hopeful of a good race and a 🐬good rhythm. For some reason, 🍨I lost the front in Turn 8. 

"I was not pushing to the maximum there. Maybe it was because i🎃f you don’t take tꦇhe perfect line then you hit a slippery spot.

“My aim was to make the top ten. Anyway, we took some experience with the new bike,🎐 what it is capable of doing and ideas for the future direction of the development.

“We⛎ will also take away the atmosphere and the Sprint podium!”

Red Bull KTM team manag💯er Francesco Guidot🌠ti did not doubt the cause of Pedrosa’s exit.

“It was a shame he did not finish the race, but he hit one of the damp patches that was still there♎. Luckily, he is uninjured but a pity to close the weekend that way,” Guidotti said.

While further wild-card entries are yet to be announced, Pedrosa has now made a total of 298 grand prix starts and told the official MotoGP podcast befor🌠e the weekend that he would prefer the number 300…

Although the Sprint result doesn’t count, Pedrosa’s current tally of 112 MotoGP podiums is also just two behind countryman 🦩and great rival Jorge Lorenzo, with whom the #26 has agreed to a char💫ity boxing match.

Pedrosa raced at Jerez and then Misano as a KTM wild-card last season, fini🥃shing fourth and a fraction from the podium in both races at the San Marino Grand Prix.

New KTM test rider🅠 Pol Esparga♐ro will make his wild-card debut at Mugello in early June.