motorsport.com are reporting the Honda rider will join the Austrian factory in 2019

Dani Pedrosa will leave the Repsol Honda Team at the end of the season as his Grand Prix racing career comes to an end, but according to motorsport.com, the three-time World Champion will join the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team in a test role after he’s completed his final race on board a Honda in Valencia.

The Spaniard has enjoyed a successful premier class career with the Japanese manufacturer, which includes 122 podiums and 31 victories in 13 years, however the interest from former long-time crew chief Mike Leitner and the opportunity to continue his collaboration with KTM’s title sponsor Red Bull has made the test role an enticing one for the 'Little Samurai'.

KTM’s regular test rider Mika Kallio has been ruled out for the rest of the season after sustaining knee ligament damage at the Sachsenring, but the Finn is expected to work alongside Pedrosa in a two-man test team as the Austrian factory continue their development of the RC-16.

So does this mean we’ll see the 32-year-old racing again in 2019? Unfortunately not, as Pedrosa is expected to forgo any wildcard appearances with KTM.