KONICA MINOLTA Honda heads to high-speed Catalunya Just days after a dramatic weekend at their home MotoGP race of Mugello, the KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team head to Spain and the Barcelona track of Catalunya. With a few days to analyse the data from their home race, it is hoped that the KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team will be able to improve the set-up and balance of their Honda RC212V machine before first practice on Friday. The 2.9mile Montmeló circuit is located just north of Barcelona and is similar in style to Mugello, with a long main straight and some fast and technical corners. Spanish fans also share a similar passion for motorsport as do their Italian cousins, so the race promises to be a popular and exciting event. The MotoGP season is now in full swing, with two further races in the month of June at Donington Park in Great Britain on 24th June and at Assen in the Netherlands on 30th June. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Catalunya is very similar to Mugello and for this reason I think we will be in a similar condition with the bike although hopefully not the weather, which was so changeable in Italy! We hope to have more time in dry conditions so we can understand better the technical situation with the new 800cc bike and to solve the current problem that we had in the Mugello race. This will be an important weekend for us as the MotoGP challenge will continue but perhaps more importantly after the race we will stay on for a day at Catalunya and have a test the day after the race. During this weekend we hope to get to the bottom of our problems with the consistency of our lap times. We have seen that Shinya can do competitive times early in the race, but the problem for us comes from middle of the race. As tyres go off every rider has this situation at the end of the race, but we need to find out why it happens to us a little earlier. I’m sure we will be testing some very different settings to try to find a solution.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “I like Barcelona and I love racing at the Catalunya circuit, it is a very special place! We saw at Mugello that we need to solve the problem of chatter from the front-end of the bike as it stops me pushing harder in the corners, but at least we can clearly see our problem so we know exactly what we need to work on. I love racing anywhere in Spain as the Spanish fans have such a passion for bike racing and MotoGP in particular. I enjoy the circuit layout, it is one of my favourites, so I’m hoping for lots of dry practice time as well as a good race on Sunday and a positive test on the Monday.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “The Montmeló circuit is very similar to Mugello, so this should hopefully mean that we can investigate and improve the consistency of our lap times. What is very positive is that during the last two GPs it is clear that Shinya is able to run closer to the best lap time from the top riders. Now we need to make this lap time consistent during the whole race as much as we can. We are entering a very busy period in the MotoGP season, so we will be working very hard with our technical partners such as HRC and Michelin to get improved results.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP’s European adventure rolls on Rizla Suzuki MotoGP continues its hectic European tour this coming weekend as the MotoGP circus heads to the Montmelo Circuit near Barcelona in Spain for the Catalonian GP the second leg of a busy nine week schedule that covers six European races. John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen will be taking to the 4.7km circuit for the first free practice session less than five days since the chequered flag dropped at the end of the Italian Grand Prix in Italy. Hopkins finished a spirited fifth in Mugello last Sunday with Vermeulen close behind in eighth, and the pair will want to keep up the good run of form that the team is enjoying. The season to date has produced a race win, a podium and ten top-10 finishes – between the two riders – in the six races so far. Montmelo is a circuit that Hopkins particularly likes and he finished fourth there last season his equal best result of 2006. Vermeulen too had a strong race last year, and at that time produced his best MotoGP finish by bringing his Suzuki GSV-R home in sixth. The Circuit de Catalunya is located 20km north of Barcelona and is one of the regular test tracks on the MotoGP calendar. It is a good barometer of a MotoGP bike’s performance, as it requires all elements of a machine’s performance to be at the very top level. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will start its preparations for Sunday’s 25-lap race with two free practice sessions on Friday. Saturday will have another free session and an hour of qualifying in the afternoon to determine staring positions for the race, which gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 10th June. John Hopkins: “I really enjoy Barcelona and I always seem to go well there. The track has a bit of everything for me and the 990cc bike performed well there, so I am sure the new 800 also will it’s a huge step forward from last year’s bike. I got a fourth there in 2006 and was very pleased with that, but I will certainly be planning to go a few steps higher than that this weekend! So far the season has been real good, but I know we have the package to make it even better!” Chris Vermeulen: “I know the track quite well and have enjoyed it whenever I’ve been there. It is like a home GP for me really as I live in Andorra and Barcelona is just a short drive from my house maybe I’ll get a bit of extra Spanish support! I found Mugello last weekend pretty tough so it will be good to come to track that I like and try to be competitive from the first session. I am looking for a good result this weekend as we definitely have the bike to do it, as both John and I have shown in previous weeks. We need to keep our good run going!” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Direct from Florence to Barcelona, the MotoGP circus moves to Catalonia in Spain this week after a breathtaking visit to Mugello. The second race in as many weekends illustrates the blistering pace of the championship, which is up to full speed for the main European leg. Casey Stoner will begin the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya on June 10th as the leader of the MotoGP World Championship, with three wins to his name so far in 2007. The factory Ducati rider failed to finish the race in Barcelona last season, but there seems to be no stopping the mature 21 year old from putting in consistently fast times and high race positions onboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP7. Valentino Rossi lies in second behind the Australian, cutting the gap at the top of the classification to just nine points after his sixth consecutive home victory at the Mugello circuit. Worryingly for his rivals, ‘The Doctor’ has a similar record at Catalunya, having won five of the last six races in Barcelona including the previous three instalments. The run of Mugello-Catalunya-Donington-Assen is a favourable one for Rossi, who will be looking to accumulate the maximum number of points possible before heading to less favoured tracks. Sure to receive a warm welcome from the Spanish fans, Dani Pedrosa is third in the standings and has demons to avenge this week. The factory Honda rider had a disastrous race last year at the track just a few miles from his birthplace, involved in the multi-rider first corner crash which changed the course of the season and falling again after the restart. The rider perhaps most seriously affected by the aforementioned opening lap incident was Marco Melandri, who sits behind Pedrosa in the title hunt ahead of Suzuki duo Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins. Loris Capirossi was level on points at the head of the leaderboard when he arrived in Spain last year, but the mass pile-up at Turn 1 put paid to his title attempt and he has struggled to find similar form in 2007. The Italian veteran has been on the podium just once so far this season, although the Ducati-Bridgestone combination and a CV which includes 125cc and 250cc World Championships means that the 34 year old can never be overlooked. The top ten is completed by Spanish rider Toni Elias, Mugello podium finisher Alex Barros and Yamaha factory rider Colin Edwards. The Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya takes place on Sunday June 10th, with practice for the race kicking off on the preceding Friday. 250cc Jorge Lorenzo is a man out for revenge at his home track, with points to prove on a number of fronts. The reigning 250cc World Champion and current series leader was beaten at his home track last year by current closest challenger Andrea Dovizioso, and also has a score to settle with countryman Alvaro Bautista. The latter forced Lorenzo into a crash on the final lap in Italy last weekend, and the ‘take no prisoners’ attitude of the 20 year old is sure to be in full effect in Catalunya. Expect to see more of the closely-contested action typical of the quarter litre category this season when the riders take to the track, with the likes of Alex de Angelis and Hector Barbera sure to be involved in proceedings. Although Lorenzo leads the championship by 27 points, all of the top five have led races in the class this season and have shown themselves capable of pulling a victory out of the bag. 125cc In 125cc, Hector Faubel holds the advantage courtesy of his second victory of the year. The Aspar rider edged out team-mate Sergio Gadea in a thrilling finale to the Italian round, which took him above previous championship leader Lukas Pesek in the standings. Team-mate Gabor Talmacsi also leapfrogs the Czech, trailing Faubel by just seven points in a class where only the Spaniard has won more than a single race. Simone Corsi lies in fourth overall, ahead of Gadea and Pol Espargaro. The latter rewrote the history books last year at Catalunya when he became the youngest ever World Championship points scorer, and as reigning Spanish Champion the youngster will be one to watch at his home round as he celebrates his 16th birthday. Circuit Info In 1989, through the joint collaboration of the Catalan Autonomous Government, the Montmeló Town Council and the Royal Automobile Club of Catalunya (RACC), work began on giving one of Europe´s most beautiful cities a state of the art race track to match. The Circuit de Catalunya opened on the doorstep of Barcelona in September 1991 and welcomed its first international event that same month, hosting the Spanish F1 Grand Prix. It went on to host the European Motorcycle Grand Prix and in 1995 became home to the Gran Premio de Catalunya. Considered to be one of the best designed circuits of the recent era, the Circuit de Catalunya won the much coveted IRTA ´Best Grand Prix´ trophy for 2001 and has a general admission capacity of 130,000 spectators. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM SET FOR CATALAN CHALLENGE This week the Ducati Marlboro Team dashes from its home Grand Prix at Mugello to Barcelona for the Catalan GP, the second of four races during June, MotoGP’s busiest month. Stoner has scored three wins, plus a third, a fourth and a fifth place from the first six races, proving that he has both speed and consistency. Capirossi meanwhile has scored one podium so far this season and is currently working hard to refine a new engine spec developed by Ducati Corse to suit his riding style. Capirossi won Ducati’s historic debut MotoGP win at Catalunya in June 2003, so the Italian will be aiming to fight up front once again this weekend as he and Stoner continue to work hard with the team and with their Desmosedici GP7s. LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “Barcelona will be another big challenge, so we go there working to do our best. The big thing is that we didn’t race there last year [both Capirossi and team-mate Sete Gibernau were injured in a first-corner accident and didn’t take part in the restarted race], so we don’t have any recent race tyre data for this track. But Casey proved to be very good under pressure once more at Mugello, so we go to Spain feeling optimistic. Loris won our first race there four years ago, and we hope he will have more time to work on the new engine spec he used for the first time at Mugello.” CASEY STONER, World Championship leader on 115 points “We learned a few more things at Mugello last weekend and that should help us at Barcelona. As always, we will do the best we can and whatever happens, happens. We’ve been doing a very good job so far this season, so now we go into every race a little more relaxed, a bit more confident in my ability. Barcelona used to be one of my favourite tracks, until they resurfaced it and it got a bit too rough, then it started to really play up with the bikes. My first couple of years it was really good, 2001 to 2003, then in 2004 it started getting too rough and in 2005 they resurfaced it. But it wasn’t resurfaced really well and the F1 cars make it worse. The track is pretty hard work, it’s got some really good points and some fast corners. The first sector’s not too bad, most people are pretty similar through there, then the next section is really hard, but it’s the last few turns that are really crucial, especially the last two right-handers. It’s a very technical circuit, so hopefully it’ll be another good one for us. Ducati’s first ever win was here and even if it’d be nice to have another one our target is still to do our best and see what happens. LORIS CAPIROSSI, 7th overall on 47 points “I’m looking forward to this race because I hope we will have good weather that will allow us to continue the work we did on our new engine spec at Mugello. The new spec works well for me – it gives more linear power delivery which is better for my riding style. I use more lean angle than other riders through the corners, so I need a more gentle feeling from the engine when I begin to use the throttle out of the turns. We made a good jump forward with the engine and the chassis at Mugello. We improved my feeling with the front end of the bike, which is vital for my style, but I still need more improvements in that area. Last year we had quite a tough weekend at Catalunya, even before the big crash, but I think this visit will be very different, I love this circuit, I got Ducati’s first win there in 2003. It’s a great track with a lot of long corners where you need good traction from the rear.” THE TRACK Catalunya is another challenging racetrack, characterised by long, constant-radius corners that place the emphasis on a flowing riding style, as well as excellent chassis and tyre performance. The circuit was resurfaced before the 2005 event. Catalunya is in the centre of Spain’s motorcycle racing heartland and joined the GP fixture list in 1992, hosting the Grand Prix of Europe. Wayne Rainey won the first-ever 500 GP at the track in May ’92. In ’96 the event was renamed the Catalan Grand Prix. Lap record: Nicky Hayden (Honda), 1m 43.048s, 165.139km-h/102.613mph (2006) Pole position 2006: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1m 36.411s DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 34 (born 4 April 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7 GP starts: 254 (84xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) GP victories: 28 (6xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) Pole positions: 41 (8xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Catalunya 2006 results: Grid: 6th. Race: did not start restarted race CASEY STONER Age: 21 (born 16 October 16 1985) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7 GP starts: 83 (22xMotoGP, 31×250, 30×125) GP victories: 10 (3xMotoGP, 5×250, 2×125) First GP victory: Valencia, 2003 (125) First GP: Britain, 2001 (125) Pole positions: 6 (2xMotoGP, 2×250, 2×125) First pole: Netherlands, 2003 (125) Catalunya 2006 results: Grid: 8th. Race: DNF More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone GP Briefing Round 7: Catalunya Tuesday 5 June 2007 With scarcely time to regroup following the Italian GP in Mugello last weekend, the MotoGP paddock heads to Barcelona, Spain for the Catalan round of this season’s championship. The Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo’ on the northern outskirts of Barcelona is one of three Spanish circuits on the calendar sandwiched between its sister tracks Jerez and Valencia which are at either end of the championship as rounds two and 18 respectively. A popular venue for Formula 1 testing and home to last month’s Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Catalan track is a popular motorsport venue whether on four wheels or two and is a circuit that Bridgestone Motorsport is well acquainted with across its range of motorsport disciplines. MotoGP, however, has always proven to be a tough challenge for Bridgestone with riders on its tyres yet to claim a podium finish in five seasons. That particular hurdle is one that Bridgestone is keen to overcome this weekend using the positive results obtained so far in 2007 as an encouraging benchmark. Tyre Talk with Hiroshi Yamada Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Sport Department How would you rate the Catalunya circuit from Bridgestone’s perspective? “The Circuit de Catalunya has always been something of a tough track for Bridgestone. The track surface is similar to places like Shanghai and Turkey and has previously been hard on our tyres due to the smooth, slippery nature of the asphalt. The biggest issue that we have faced in previous years has been the high levels of degradation over the course of the race distance and this has been our main area of focus ahead of this season’s race.” Are there specific characteristics of the circuit that are especially important? “In addition to the general difficulties we face with the smooth asphalt, there are a lot of long corners in Catalunya, mainly on the right hand side, which naturally increases the temperature and places a lot of stress on the edge of the tyre. We have to develop harder compound tyres to cope with such levels of stress over the lap. The layout is also quite symmetrical which gives the track a distinctive appearance.” What are Bridgestone’s aims for the weekend? “We performed significantly better in Catalunya last season, but the big first lap collision took both Ducati riders out of the race and both Kawasaki riders were unable to complete the race, so our advances were not really seen. The two Suzuki riders finished in fourth and sixth with John Hopkins just missing out on a podium position, so our aim for this year’s event must simply be to give our riders a tyre that is competitive and, more importantly, durable enough to challenge for podium results. The huge numbers of passionate fans in Catalunya really add to the overall ambience of the weekend and we hope to contribute positively to an entertaining race weekend for them all.” Riding Perspective with Ducati’s Casey Stoner “The Circuit de Catalunya is actually pretty hard work from a rider’s perspective, not least because of the asphalt which has been a big influential factor for bike set-up since it was resurfaced a few years ago. The circuit layout itself is also challenging with some really interesting sections and some fast corners. It is a very technical circuit, so hopefully it will be a track that could suit the Ducati-Bridgestone package. The first sector is quite straight-forward and most riders and bikes are quite evenly matched through there. The next sector is quite tricky to negotiate but the last two right-handers are probably the most crucial parts of the lap to pick up the rhythm coming back onto the main straight. We have built up a very strong working relationship with Bridgestone in a short space of time and I think the benefits of this close co-operation have been seen in the race results we have achieved together so far this season.” 2006 Flashback Race Winner Valentino Rossi Yamaha 41m31.237s Top Rider on Bridgestone (4th) John Hopkins Suzuki 41m44.702s Qualifying Pole Position Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m41.855s Top Rider on Bridgestone John Hopkins Suzuki 1m41.984s More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FIAT YAMAHA TEAM HEAD TO BARCELONA ON A HIGH The Fiat Yamaha Team will float across the Mediterranean on cloud nine this week as they follow the MotoGP World Championship trail to Barcelona on the back of a stunning victory for Valentino Rossi at Mugello. Rossi’s 25-point haul in front of his adoring home fans has propelled him to within striking distance of series leader Casey Stoner, who now holds a precarious advantage of just nine points, and provided a real boost in confidence as the team head to one of Rossi’s happiest hunting grounds. Not only is the Catalonian capital one of Rossi’s favourite cities, but the circuit they built as part of their Olympic Games project back in 1992 has seen the multi-World Champion grace the top step of the podium on no fewer than eight occasions in all classes. For the past three seasons the 28-year-old has taken MotoGP victory there for Yamaha and, after enjoying the much-improved engine performance of the YZR-M1 down the long straight of his home track, he has every reason to be optimistic of a repeat result this Sunday. For Colin Edwards the ferry ride to the north-eastern coast of Spain represents a welcome opportunity to put last weekend’s events behind him as soon as possible. The Texan has struggled to find a comfortable set-up for his machine at the past two races and after suffering from the limited track time afforded by the changeable weather in France and Italy he will be hoping for a more traditional June climate on the Iberian peninsular. Like Mugello, and some of this year’s previously visited tracks such as Losail, Shanghai and Istanbul, the Circuit de Catalunya features a main straight that is amongst the longest in the world. The rest of the track is characterised by long radius, medium and high-speed sweepers, with two tight left-hand hairpins thrown into the mix. This variation combined with regular changes in camber makes the circuit particularly demanding on chassis balance and means that front-end feel is a key concern for every rider. Valentino Rossi “A SPANISH PARTY!” After enjoying the raucous backing of over 85,000 fans at his home circuit, Valentino Rossi is looking forward to yet more passionate support in Barcelona this Sunday. Despite the recent success of local rider Dani Pedrosa, Rossi remains a firm favourite with the Spanish fans and always looks forward to performing for them, whether it be at Barcelona, Jerez or Valencia. “Barcelona is always a great race for me and I’ve won there the last three years with Yamaha, so hopefully we can do it again,” says Rossi. “I am lucky to have lots of fans in Spain, even though I have had some close rivalries with Spanish riders, and it is always a pleasure to ride in front of them. I got a fantastic reception when I won the race at Jerez earlier in the season so hopefully I can start the same kind of party in Barcelona. “Dani Pedrosa will also have a lot of support this weekend and I expect him to be a difficult rival once again after such a good race at Mugello. Also Stoner will be strong, especially down the long straight, but Yamaha and Michelin have worked really hard to close the gap on our rivals and I think we are ready to battle with them at every track now. After Mugello we have three more races at three of my favourite tracks so hopefully we can continue with the good progress we have made recently and be back on top of the podium again!” Colin Edwards “MOVING ON” Despite making a bright start to the season a run of bad luck and even worse weather has hindered the progress of Colin Edwards in recent weeks, leaving him languishing in tenth place in the championship. The ‘Texas Tornado’ is desperate for three fully dry free practice sessions this weekend as he aims to rediscover feeling and confidence with his YZR-M1 but in any case he has a good record at the circuit in wet conditions, having won the ultra-competitive pre-season ‘qualifying’ session in a torrential downpour just over a year ago. “Mugello was a nightmare for me but it’s behind us now and luckily Barcelona is a track I like a lot more,” says Edwards. “I know I’m good in the wet there too after winning the ‘qualifying’ at the pre-season test in 2006 so if we get hit by the bad weather that seems to have been following us around then we should be okay this time! “Basically we’ve got to get our heads down from Friday morning and be right up there from the very first session. We lost one of only two dry practices in Mugello because we were trying something that didn’t work and we can’t afford for that to happen again. We know we’ve got the package to be competitive so it’s just a case of making the right decisions, getting some confidence going again and moving forward.” Fiat Yamaha Team Davide Brivio “FULL OF CONFIDENCE” Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio enjoyed a short celebration after the team’s home Grand Prix on Sunday evening but it was soon back to work for the whole staff as they hit the road for Barcelona. This weekend’s race is the second of six over a seven-week spell that will put every team member to the test and firmly establish the serious contenders for the MotoGP World Championship title this season. “This is a really busy time for everyone but Mugello was a great boost and we go to Barcelona full of confidence and motivation,” says Brivio. “We’ve have an excellent record at the Catalunya Circuit over the last few years and it’s another of Valentino’s favourite tracks. He was in fantastic form in Mugello and hopefully this will continue in Spain. “The team and Yamaha have done a brilliant job after some problems that we had and Valentino’s win in Mugello showed that we’re in a position to fight. We’ve found some extra top speed, although this is something we will keep on trying to improve, and Michelin have also made some good improvements with the tyres. Colin had a bad time in Italy but Barcelona suits him much better and we just need to keep working and find a way to get him back to the form he was showing a couple of races ago.”