From a press release issued by Dorna Communication: The massive expectation ahead of the first European round of the MotoGP season was building rapidly on Thursday at the magical Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain, where nearly a quarter of a million fans are expected over the duration of the Gran Premio bwin.com de España weekend. Pleasant spring temperatures, a light breeze and spells of Spanish sunshine welcomed the MotoGP fraternity to the Andalusian track, as the teams mounted their hospitality and pit-box fittings and scores of officials, riders teams and media arrived to ready themselves for the weekend with the MotoGP paddock getting into full swing for the first time in 2008. Thursday’s customary pre-GP press conference saw Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi address a packed press room, the media attention raised in anticipation of another spectacular battle between the new young guns and some of the more established premier class names on Sunday. World Champion Stoner commented enthusiastically ahead of the weekend’s action, “Well it’s seems such a long time that we have been away from the European races and really there is nothing that compares to this! There is a special atmosphere here with so many people and at all three Grands Prix in Spain. It’s very good to really start the season here.” Five-time MotoGP title winner, and a seven-time race winner at Jerez, Rossi added, “Jerez is a fantastic track, a little bit old style with the long and high speed corners and it’s always a pleasure to ride the bike at this circuit. I have great, great memories of good victories here, including last year and I think it will be possible for me to be competitive here.” Earlier in the afternoon, five additional riders competing in this weekend’s second round of the season enjoyed some free time, visiting a traditional Andalusian house in Jerez and sampling some local culture. Shinya Nakano, Toni Elias, Marco Simoncelli, Sergio Gadea and Bradley Smith were all present as local guides invited them to try some tapas dishes and demonstrated the flamenco – the famous Spanish dance which is so cherished in the Andalusia region of south west Spain. For his part, Briton Smith was reluctant to try the tapas due to the strict dietary regime which he follows to the letter, though he like his World Championship colleagues briefly gave the flamenco a try – with MotoGP stars Elias and Nakano setting a great example for their younger counterparts. Friday’s Gran Premio bwin.com de España action gets underway with the first free practice for the MotoGP class at 10am local time, preceded by the 125cc FP1 session at 9am and followed by the quarter-litre category getting their first run-out at 11.15am.