PEDROSA CELEBRATES 150th AT LE MANS Remarkable Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa is all set to achieve another career milestone this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans his 150th Grand Prix event. The Spaniard, who has ridden Honda machinery throughout his motorcycle racing career, has been a full-time GP rider since 2001. He was just 15 years old when he made his GP debut at the awe-inspiring Suzuka circuit, Japan, in April 2001 and scored his first GP podium at Valencia later that year, just days before his 16th birthday. Pedrosa took his first GP victory with his Honda RS125R the following June at Assen and went on to secure the 125cc world title in 2003. If Pedrosa took a while to get up to winning speed when he first joined the GP circus, he was immediately dominant when he graduated to the 250cc class in 2004, winning first time out in South Africa and going on to win back-to-back World Championships aboard his Honda RS250R-W. Promotion to MotoGP was inevitable and Pedrosa took no time at all to make his mark in the premier class, scoring a second-place finish in his first race aboard Honda’s RC211V at Jerez and taking his first win just three races later. That victory at Shanghai made him (at 20 years and 227 days) the youngest rider in history to win races in all three GP classes, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, Mike Hailwood, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner. Ever since that first MotoGP win Pedrosa has been consistently at the forefront of the class, scoring race wins every season, with a best championship result of second in 2007 aboard Honda’s new RC212V. He was third overall in 2008 and again last year. He currently lies third overall in the 2010 title chase following his brilliant ride to second place at Jerez earlier this month. Kazuhiko Yamano – HRC Team Director “This is an impressive landmark for Dani to pass at such a young age and I’d like to wish him well for his 150th Grand Prix this weekend. He is a rider with a very strong mentality who is 100 per cent focused on giving his best performance at every moment, and I’m sure this is why he has already had so much success in Grand Prix racing. For his whole career Dani has been riding Honda machines and he has won three world titles with us, so I’d like to thank him for these achievements and for his dedication to Honda.” Dani Pedrosa “It’s amazing to be at my 150th Grand Prix, all of them with Honda, because it doesn’t feel as though I have been in the paddock for so long – although it’s still less than half as many races as Loris Capirossi! To be honest, I do not really pay too much attention to statistics like this and for me it is just another race weekend where I want to do as well as possible. But anyway, I’d like to thank my fans for all their support through my career so far and also to the team around me. I hope this can be a special race.” Dani Pedrosa’s career milestones 125cc GP debut 2001 Japanese GP, Suzuka, April 8 Grid: 23rd Race: 18th First 125cc GP podium 2001 Valencia GP, Valencia, September 23 Grid: 8th Race: 3rd First 125cc GP win 2002 Dutch TT, Assen, June 29 Grid: pole Race: 1st 250cc GP debut and first win 2004 South African GP, Welkom, April 18 Grid: 4th Race: 1st MotoGP debut and first podium 2006 Spanish GP, Jerez, April 2 Grid: 5th Race: 2nd First MotoGP win: 2006 Chinese GP, Shanghai, May 14 Grid: pole Race: 1st Dani Pedrosa: GP career statistics Grand Prix wins: 31. 8 x 125cc, Honda RS125R 15 x 250cc, Honda RS250R-W. 8 x MotoGP, 2 x Honda RC211V, 6 x Honda RC212V. Grand Prix podium places: 80. 17 x 125cc, Honda RS125R. 24 x 250cc, Honda RS250R-W. 39 x MotoGP, 8 x Honda RC211V, 31 x MotoGP Honda RC212V. Grand Prix pole positions: 32. 9 x 125cc, 9 x 250cc, 14 x MotoGP. Grand Prix fastest laps: 35. 5 x 125cc, 15 x 250cc, 15 x MotoGP. World Championship titles: 3. 1 x 125cc, 2003, Honda RS125R. 2 x 250cc, 2004 and 2005, Honda RS250R-W. Dani Pedrosa – career highlights. 1997: 3rd Spanish Championship Pocket Bikes 1998: Spanish Pocket Bike Champion 1999: 8th MoviStar Activa Joven Honda Cup 2000: 4th 125cc Spanish Championship – Honda 2001: 8th 125cc World Championship – Honda 2002: 3rd 125cc World Championship – Honda race wins 3 2003: 125c World Champion – Honda race wins 5 2004: 250cc World Champion – Honda race wins 7 2005: 250cc World Champion – Honda race wins 8. 2006: 5th MotoGP World Championship Honda race wins 2. 2007: 2nd MotoGP World Championship Honda race wins 2 2008: 3rd MotoGP World Championship Honda race wins 2. 2009: 3rd MotoGP World Championship Honda race wins 2. Dani Pedrosa Spain. Team: Repsol Honda Racing number: 26. Race machine: Honda RC212V Date of birth: September 29, 1985 Birthplace: Castellar del Valles, Spain Height: 1.59 m Weight: 52 kg Hobbies: Cycling, Supermotard, motocross, trials, cinema, videogames First race: 1997 Pocket bike racing More, from a press release issued by JiR Team: Everything is now ready to move into the hot summer of the Moto2 World Championship! The JiR Team is ready to warm-up its engines for the French weekend with its usual enthusiasm and passion. Simone Corsi is confident to be able to improve on the excellent result at Jerez. The 5th place finish in Spain showed how the rider from Rome is increasing the feeling with his MotoBI and confirmed the positivity of the job completed so far. It is now very important to approach qualifying with the same determination and efficiency in order to get a better position on the starting grid. Mattia Pasini is instead looking for redemption. The difficulties suffered in Spain tested the temper of the rider from Rimini, who is now anxious to get the throttle back in his hand to show his true value. The two week break has been helpful for him to think about what needs to be done to be competitive again. But, the championship is still a long one and it is important to gain points in each race. Gianluca Montiron CEO JiR “There has been a lengthy break from one race to the other and this was good for the new Moto2 machine. We have worked hard exploiting the data we collected in Qatar and Spain and we’ll continue in this way making little improvements in order not to move backwards, but continue our gradual progress forward. Technical improvements are always possible, but we truly feel we’re already at the same level as our fiercest competitors. Now it’s time for the riders to adapt to the bike and exploit its full potential, using their determination and skill to make the difference. Simone Corsi is strong at the moment, he’s improving his feeling with the bike and this is confirmed by the progress he has made. Mattia Pasini had more trouble to contend with in Spain but I’m confident he will be able to return to the head of the pack. The team will have to work hard to put both riders in the position to claim a good grid position in qualifying. We know that if they can’t start from the front it will be very hard to catch the leading pack.” Le Mans is an historical circuit for motorcycling: a name that immediately brings to mind the glorious 24-Hour races, but it is also now a popular event on the MotoGP calendar. The track is not one of the hardest for the riders, but it needs a sharp and effective setting to handle the hard acceleration and braking zones effectively. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: A NEW PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN RIBONI AND THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM From this season the trucks of The Pramac Racing Team, will have on the side the emblem of the “Riboni Transport”. The company from Novara, has over forty years experience in transport and logistics internationally consulting, it is consisting of highly qualified personnel and equipped with a modern and reliable fleet, which allowed it to ship across all Europe, Middle East, Russia and North Africa. The company also has a branches of network that allowed them to deal with various logistical needs and give a speedy and punctual service. The company certified ISO 9001/2008, has always paid attention to the environmental concerns, with the constantly renews of its fleet into compliance with EU legislation in all the countries where it operates and develops projects aimed to environmental protection. The two trailers that will help the Pramac Racing Team truck to reach all the various circuits are two Iveco Stralis 500 powered by an Euro5 plus EVV engine. The new generation engine allowed an efficient oxidation of all hydrocarbons with better benefits for the environment because the filtering system allows to maintain the 80% of ash particulate. Moreover, the engines are approved in all countries where there is the Euro5 restriction and have the lower consumption of all the engines that are now on the market. Paolo Campinoti – Team Principal of Pramac Racing Team “We are very pleased to have drawn up a partnership with a company that has one of his main objectives the constant renewal of the fleet to reduce the environmental impacts of their travel. The two trailers that the company has give to us are using a new engine, the Euro5 plus EVV, which has very low fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions. It’s very important for us to minimize our emissions during the transfers between the various circuits, and having these types of innovative trucks means that they will help us do so. In addition, the partnership will allow the Riboni, an Italian company in rapid experiencing to the abroad markets, to increase their awareness and to have greater international exposure.” Alberto Riboni – CEO Riboni Transport “We were very involved in the eco-activities that the Team Pramac Racing is planning to implement during this season. We believe that linking our image to a Team that pursues environmental issues is very important and fundamental for us, since one of the main point of our mission is precisely the minimization of our environmental impact. The MotoGP World Championship is getting higher public followers year by year and through this sponsorship we hope to increase our awareness not only in Italy, but also in the abroad countries. ” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: The Fiat Yamaha Team is delighted to announce a new sponsorship agreement today with L’Oral Italia S.p.A, for the brand Fructis Garnier. The Fructis Garnier brand produces a popular range of hair-care products, which are sold all over the world. The company logos will be displayed on the right arms of the leathers of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, as well as in the team pit box and on the team trucks. “This new sponsorship with Fructis Garnier is great news for us and we’re delighted to welcome such an important global brand as L’Oreal into our Yamaha MotoGP family.” Said Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing. “It’s Garnier’s first foray into MotoGP and we’re looking forward to introducing them into the sport and working with them in this new partnership.” “We are eager to announce our sponsorship agreement with Yamaha” Said Flavia Sampietro, General Director of Garnier-Maybelline N.Y. Italy. “Fructis represents one of the most dynamic and popular brands of Garnier. We feel close to Yamaha since we share the same passion for challenges and performance, supported by rigorous research and technology.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo arrived in Le Mans for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, the third round of the FIM MotoGP World Championship, determined to defend his early championship lead. The Fiat Yamaha rider took prime position in the championship standings courtesy of his win last time out in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez and is confident of a good result this weekend, at a circuit that has been kind to him in the past. Lorenzo was second at Le Mans in 2008, his debut season in MotoGP, but went one better and took the win at the Bugatti circuit last year, in a race that he started on wet tyres but ended on slicks. Lorenzo will be keen to stretch the four point lead that he currently has over his Fiat Yamaha teammate, Valentino Rossi, this weekend in the Grand Prix de France, which marks the start a hectic period that will see the riders contest five MotoGP races in just seven weeks. “This many races in a short space of time is hard physically, because you are always on the bike and you don’t have time to stop and rest, but for the riders it’s the best thing, because racing almost every weekend is what we live for,” declared the Fiat Yamaha rider at the pre-event press conference, where he was joined by Valentino Rossl, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Randy de Puniet. The Spaniard also admitted that the Le Mans circuit was one that he enjoys racing at, even if the weather conditions for this year’s race promise to be very different to those when he won here twelve months ago. “This is a track I like and all the predictions say that it’s not going to rain this weekend, so I’m happy to be at this wonderful track enjoying this wonderful weather.” Lorenzo’s confidence is high following a successful post race test at Jerez, where he was able to focus on rectifying the starting issues that forced him to fight his way through the field in the first two races of the season. “We tested some electronic parts in Jerez after the race and also some things to improve our first laps, but mainly we tried some starts. I’ve had to push too much in the races this season to make up for the start, so this and the first few laps is what we have been working to improve.” Also present at the press conference was Lorenzo’s closest rival in the championship standings, Valentino Rossi. The nine-time world champion is now almost fully recovered from the shoulder injury, sustained in a motocross crash, which caused him problems during the race in Jerez. “My shoulder feels a lot better. For sure still not 100 percent again, but it’s definitely better than it was in Jerez,” explained Rossi. Like his Fiat Yamaha teammate, Rossi has also won in France, racking up three race victories since stepping up to the premier class, but the Italian has also suffered disappointment at the tricky Le Mans circuit in the past. “In Le Mans I’ve had a lot of different results. Sometimes I’ve had great races with great victories, while some other times I’ve had some bad luck and some bad results as well. Last year was the worst weekend of my season; I was never fast enough to stay at the front and I arrived last in the race. It was quite a bad feeling!” “This track is always very tricky, because you need a strange setting for good stability in braking. There’s always a problem with wheelie under acceleration from the tight hairpin, but at the same time you need to have a fast bike for the last part and good agility.” Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa is another rider who has won at Le Mans in the past, although his three victories were in the 250cc and 125cc classes. Second place and a positive post race test at Jerez three weeks ago mean that Pedrosa is looking forward to the weekend ahead, on a track that he regards as fun to race on. “On one side this track is very fast, but on the other it’s very hard because there is a lot of hard braking and a lot of overtaking points. Here the racing is always good and in past years we’ve also had a lot to deal with, because we’ve had to change bikes or the weather was in between, so it was fun.” Casey Stoner, currently lying eighth in the championship standings, was positive about his chances of clawing back some points from his main rivals this weekend, but the Australian refused to be drawn on the rumours circulating the paddock that he is already deep in discussions with a number of teams about a ride for the 2011 season. Randy de Puniet heads into his home Grand Prix off the back of good qualifying performances in the opening two races of the season, but the Frenchman remained realistic about his target for this weekend during the press conference. “This race is so difficult for me; the last five times I’ve raced here on the MotoGP bike were a disaster, although my results prior to that on the 250 were good. This year I want to be at the front and, if I can finish on Sunday behind these four riders (Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa and Stoner), this would be perfect. I’m confident, but this will be a difficult race, like all the races so far this year.” Earlier in the day de Puniet joined Marco Simoncelli and Ben Spies on a visit to the Centre Hospitalier du Mans, where they met some of the hospital’s younger patients. The trio handed out posters and signed autographs, while one youngster even conducted an interview with Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Spies. “It’s good to be able to do this because I have been in hospital for a pretty good length of time myself, and it’s always great to have people come and visit,” said Spies. “We are always here a day early so it’s nice to be able to do something for the kids and for the charity organisation. I think it benefits everyone so I’m happy to be a part of it.”