Pedrosa's KTM MotoGP Bike Beats a Red Bull F1 Car on Ice

Dani Pedrosa won Red Bull's ice race, in which his KTM MotoGP bike took on a Formula 1 car, a rallycross car, a truck and a snowmobile. The video, published by Red Bull, was picked up by the motorsport press on 13 November 2026.

Five machines on a frozen lake

The challenge took place on a frozen lake in Eagle River, Wisconsin, at -17 °C, on about 43 hectares of ice. Every machine ran studded tyres and cold-weather modifications. The line-up:

• Dani Pedrosa, KTM MotoGP test rider and 31-time Grand Prix winner, on the KTM RC16;
• Patrick Friesacher, a former F1 driver, in a demo Red Bull RB7, the car that won the title in 2011;
• Scott Speed, a former F1 driver turned rallycross champion, in a rallycross car;
• Andrew Carlson, Pro 4 champion, in an off-road truck;
• Gunnar Sterne, on a snowmobile with a top speed of 105 mph.

A time-trial format

The five vehicles shared the same start and finish line, but each had its own layout. The snowmobile had the longest lap; the F1 car and Pedrosa's KTM had the shortest and twistiest ones. Shorter inner turns favoured machines poorly suited to winter, while longer sections favoured those built for snow.

Pedrosa wins the final

After a calibration lap, Pedrosa was second quickest, behind the F1 car. In the final head-to-head he came out ahead of Friesacher. For the ice, his bike received reduced suspension travel, steel discs instead of carbon and engine mapping modified for the cold. According to Crash.net, his rivals saw the task as especially hard for him, with just one driven wheel on ice.

What to take from it

This is a Red Bull video challenge, unrelated to the MotoGP world championship. Even so, the result is a neat showcase for KTM and its test rider. Exact times were not given in the sources consulted.

The editorial team