the next Dani Pedrosa is Italian! 🇮🇹
it might seem an overstatement, but Italy has its own DP26, literally: this is 12 y.o. (b. 11.08.2013) Daniel Putortì from Calabria, also known as "Pedrosino" ("small Pedrosa"… *chuckles*), only 140cm and whose race number is 26!
part of the Talenti Azzurri, he's currently competing in the FIM MiniGP Italy Series Ohvale 190 (he just came back after an injury in Round 1) and he could be the next big thing considering his results:
2023: 2nd Ohvale GP-0 110;
2024: 2nd MiniGP Italy Series Ohvale 160, 2nd MiniGP World Final 160;
2025: 1st MiniGP Italy Series Ohvale 160, 2nd FIM MotoMini World Series Final 160
it's a long way to the top and his career is still at the very beginning, but the premise is interesting and Italy needs new and fresh talents to keep stay relevant in the motorcycling world!
don't you also notice a certain resemblance to the great Dani Pedrosa? let's see if Putortì will grow taller and especially more talented than the Little Samurai… not an easy feat! ;)
Besides him there are many other promising young Italian riders in the pipeline, like Giulio Pugliese, Leonardo Alessandro Zanni (Moto3 Junior), Lorenzo Pritelli, Edoardo Savino, Cristian Borrelli (Moto4 European Cup), Luca Rizzi, Lorenzo Fino (CIV Moto4) and then Filippo Balestrero, Alessandro Lora (CIV GP Junior), Francesco Marzo, Mattia Gabrielli, Alessandro Souchet (Ohvale 190) and Achille Raggi (Ohvale 110).
