2011 FIM ROAD RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX ROUND 15 SEPTEMBER 30, OCTOBER 1/2, 2011 MOTEGI, JAPAN PREVIEW MOTOGP AND MOTO2 HONDA’S HOME GRAND PRIX BECKONS The Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi, Honda’s home track, will be Honda’s most significant race of the year for a number of reasons. Most importantly it will demonstrate that the country that was devastated by the March earthquake and tsunami near the east coast of Honshu, which forced the postponement from the original April 25 grand prix date, is now well on its way to recovery. It also marks Honda’s greatest effort in the 800cc era for the RC212V’s last MotoGP race in Japan. And it could bring Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner closer to closing out the 800cc era the way he started it, by winning the World Championship. After the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit off the coast of northern Japan on March 11, racing motorcycles wasn’t a priority for the Japanese people. The worst natural disaster in the country’s history tested the resolve of the Japanese, who vowed to rebuild their country stronger than ever. Twin Ring Motegi was only lightly damaged, but repairs were put off while the less fortunate were tended to. Now, nearly seven months on, the race will be run as a celebration of the country’s continued recovery with Honda’s greatest contribution to the 800cc grid, including one rider who’s participation is a validation of the country’s determination. Shinichi Itoh, 44, came out of retirement to win this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours, his fourth win and Honda’s 24th in the endurance classic. The veteran competed as a way of showing support for his hometown, Kakuda in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the areas hit by the earthquake. Itoh will further put off his retirement to race a Honda RC212V as a Team HRC wild card at the Japanese Grand Prix, along with Kousuke Akiyoshi, one of his riding partners on the Suzuka-winning team. Akiyoshi, 36, will race in the colors of LCR Honda MotoGP alongside Toni Elias. The addition of Honda’s two test riders as wild cards raises the number of RCV212Vs on the grid to eight. The most successful rider in the Honda family is Casey Stoner. The 2007 MotoGP World Champion has been sensational this year, winning eight of 14 races to balloon his points lead to 44 over reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Stoner’s dream season continued in the previous Aragon race which he won handily from the pole. It continued his streak of podium appearances in every race he’s finished. And if the stars line up Stoner could wrap up the championship in his home grand prix at Phillip Island on his 26th birthday. Stoner won last year’s Japanese Grand Prix after a thrilling battle with Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V). It was only on the 17th of 24 laps that Stoner was able to put a second on Dovi, which he expanded to 3.868s at the finish. Stoner also finished second at Motegi in 2008 and was on the podium in both the 250cc and 125cc classes. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished second to Stoner in Aragon, his third runner-up finish in a row, which doesn’t sit well with the ambitious Spaniard. Pedrosa doesn’t have a win at Motegi in MotoGP, but he did win both the 250cc and 125cc races during his championship seasons. Pedrosa makes his return to Japan a year after suffering a broken collarbone through no fault of his own. The injury kept him out of three races. Still, he finished second in the championship. The 2010 Japanese GP was one of the best rides of the season for Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V). Dovizioso’s consistency this season has put him third to Stoner and Lorenzo, which would be a career best season-ending finish in the premier class. His biggest competition will come from team-mate Pedrosa, who was able to take advantage of Dovi’s crash in Aragon to take 20 points out of his lead. Dovizioso finished last year strongly he was on the podium in three of the last five races and will need that strength to maintain his championship position. Like Pedrosa, Dovizioso won the 125cc race at Motegi; he also has a pair of runner-up finishes in MotoGP. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli has shown strength in qualifying which hasn’t always translated into race success. Only once this season has the Italian qualified off the front two rows of the grid, yet he has only one podium to show for it. He’s been close recently he finished fourth in the previous two races in Misano and Aragon and hopes to return to the rostrum in Japan, where he won the 250cc race in 2008. The Aragon race was compromised by excessive front tyre wear, though the team made an adjustment on race day that should allow Simoncelli to again ride hard in Motegi. Simoncelli will arrive in Japan relaxed after spending his free weekend driving a rally car in England. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) is from Chiba, which wasn’t directly affected by the earthquake, but he has a number of friends who were and is looking forward to racing for them and the rest of his fellow countrymen at Motegi. Aoyama made the meaningful step of joining the MotoGP class last year; he was the first Japanese rider in the premier class since Shinya Nakano left the San Carlo Honda Gresini team at the end of 2008. Aoyama knows the way to the Motegi podium, having won there in both 2005 and 2006. He was second at Motegi in 2009, the year he won the final 250cc World Championship. The Moto2 clash in Motegi may provide the first change of the championship leader in five months. Stefan Bradl (Viessmann-Kiefer Racing, Kalex) has been at the top of the standings since taking the lead back from Andrea Iannone (Speed Master, Suter) with a win at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril. Bradl built on that victory to amass a seemingly invincible 62 point lead which reached its zenith at the rain-lashed British Grand Prix. But the lead has all but evaporated due to the brilliance of Marc Marquez (Team CaixaCatalunya Repsol, Suter). The reigning 125cc World Champion overcame a slow start to build a winning record that is the envy of the field. Marquez has won six of the past seven races-he finished second in the other-and now trails Bradl by only six points with four races remaining. While Marquez has been utterly dominant, the once unstoppable Bradl has faltered, giving away points in bunches under the weight of the championship lead. The young German has now vowed to forget about the championship and return to racing for wins, which he did earlier in the season, winning four of the first six races before stumbling in the Dutch TT, where he fell out of seventh four laps from the end and could only watch as Marquez won his second race of the year. The race in the Netherlands was pivotal: It marked the reversal of Bradl’s supremacy in his second year in the class. Marquez arrives in Japan having won at Motorland Aragon, his third in a row. Marquez battled in the early going before taking the lead for good from Iannone on the 13th of 21 laps and romping to victory. Bradl was a dispirited eighth. Iannone, meanwhile, has tried to solidify third in the championship with podium finishes in three of the past four races. Interestingly, the three riders at the top of the championship have won the past three 125cc races at Motegi, Marquez last year, Iannone in 2009, and Bradl in 2008. Bradl was seventh in last year’s Moto2 race, Iannone was 13th. Twin Ring Motegi is one of the most versatile venues in the world, with a world class road course interwoven with a world class egg-shaped oval. The name Twin Ring is the marriage of two words, the English “twin” and the German “ring,” to denote the two tracks. MotoGP has always run on the 4.8km road course and Indy Cars on the 2.493km oval. That changed this year after the earthquake damaged a portion of the oval. The Indy Cars got to enjoy the road course when they visited Motegi two weeks ago in a race won by Scott Dixon in his Honda-powered car. The Motegi road course doesn’t always lend itself to great racing, though last year was an exception. There were compelling battles for first and second, and third and fourth, with passes made in improbable places. Stop-start straightaways feed into lower-gear hairpins that place added importance on stability on the brakes and quick bursts of acceleration, which the Honda RC212V excels at. Such is the nature of the course that most of the 14 corners are taken in either first or second gear. The fastest stretch is the back straight, where in 2009 the highest top speed of 297.8kp/h was clocked by Pedrosa and his RC212V. Braking stability is paramount, as riders are asked to brake from sixth down to first gear for the 90 degree Turn 11 right-hander. From there the riders go briefly into the dark through the short tunnel under the oval straightaway. Out of the shadows they’re funneled into the final three-turn sequence that leads onto the 762m long front straight and the finish line. Motegi has the distinction of being the only race to be postponed two years in a row by natural disasters. Last year’s race was postponed by the volcanic eruption in Iceland that disrupted travel from Europe. The eruption moved Japan to October when it was the first of three flyaways, as it is this year. After Motegi comes a weekend off, followed by the Australian and Malaysian GPs before the championship concludes in Valencia, Spain. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner says: “Motegi is quite a different circuit. It’s similar in a way to Le Mans and is very stop-start, a little like a go kart track, but in general it’s nice and more fun than some of the other circuits we visit. It has a lot of hard braking, a lot of hard accelerating, it’s pretty tough on the body and physically demanding. If you miss your braking points it’s easy to run wide, so it will be important to get the setup on the bike just right. As in Aragon, we will be going out there trying to win and not only looking for valuable championship points. We had a fantastic race here last year, probably one of my best in my opinion, and it will be fun to go there on the Honda and see how the bike works around the circuit.” Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso says: “We go to Japan focused on returning to the podium; this has to be our target. We will arrive at the Japanese GP this year in the same position we were last year – straight from a crash and zero points, but I’m determined to transform this disappointment with extra motivation. Last season we had a great race and we almost won, so I’m confident to repeat a great performance at Motegi, a circuit that I like and where I have been on the podium in all the three classes. Moreover, this is Honda’s home GP and it’s very important to score a good result here. Regarding the characteristics of the track, the Twin Ring Motegi has a lot of acceleration zones so it suits the RC212V well, allowing us to use all the strong points of our machine. Concerning the championship, we are third in the world standings and we aim to strengthen our position, recovering some points on Lorenzo and maintaining the gap to Dani.” Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says: “Motegi is one of my favourite circuits not only for the layout, but also for the atmosphere. I always ride well there and feel a lot of support from the Japanese fans and I think this year will be even more special for them. Obviously, last year I had a hard time there due to my injury, but I want to focus on my riding and enjoy the GP. I go there with the same approach as the last races; trying to do our best in all the sessions. We’ve been at a good level, with three second places in a row, and I am looking forward to this race. I have won at this track in 125 and 250, but not yet in MotoGP, so that’s a big motivation for me. I enjoy racing in Motegi and together with my team we will do our best to perform well.” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli says: “There is no bitterness over finishing fourth at Aragon even though looking back I know I could have been fighting for the podium. Unfortunately the front tyre wear let me down, and even if I hadn’t run wide I couldn’t have passed Lorenzo because he was so much more consistent throughout the race. It is a shame, but I have a chance to make up for it now at Motegi. I am happy with the setup changes we made to the front end of the bike at Aragon in the warm-up and that gives me optimism for the future. Motegi is not one of my favourite circuits, it has some very hard braking and acceleration zones, which is not really a good thing for me, but I will try and adapt as best I can. The race didn’t go too bad last year and I was able to fight with Colin Edwards for fifth place and in the 250 class I took the win in 2008 and pole position in both 2008 and 2009, so those things are in our favour. I took a little time out after Aragon to go to England and drive a Ford Fiesta WRC for two intense days alongside Mikko Hirvonen, who is a true legend on four wheels, and it was a great experience. He told me I did well and that I could have a future as a rally driver. We’ll see.” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Hiroshi Aoyama says: “I was half happy with the race at Aragon satisfied that I was consistent to the end and able to fight with (Valentino) Rossi and (Cal) Crutchlow, but disappointed with the final result, which could have been much better. Anyway, at least I was able to get a good feeling back with the bike and that gives me motivation for my home race. I will have a lot of my fans there at Motegi and I want to give them a good result. For me it is important to be racing in Japan following the sad events of March and my people have handled this tragedy with great strength and courage. MotoGP has close ties with the Japanese people and for the grand prix to go ahead will strengthen this rapport. It hasn’t been easy and I understand why, but to have everybody coming to Motegi to race is a dream come true.” LCR Honda MotoGP rider Toni Elias says: “What happened in Japan some months ago is simply incredible, and racing in Motegi, despite the difficulty, is our way to help the Japanese people get back to their normal lives. The Motegi race track is a magnificent venue and I have experienced the podium in 2007 aboard a MotoGP bike. We arrive in Japan with high motivation despite the difficult overall situation, but our aim is to close the gap to the front and maybe my team-mate could give me good suggestions to deal better with his home circuit.” LCR Honda MotoGP rider Kosuke Akiyoshi says: “As a Japanese rider, it is a great honor for me to take part in the Japanese Grand Prix and I would like to thank Honda Racing and LCR Honda for giving me such an opportunity. Motegi had suffered a lot from the earthquake in March. We would like to show to all the people from overseas that we, Japanese, are trying to overcome the disaster. I hope all the Japanese riders taking part in the event can show the world that we are trying together.” Team HRC Honda rider Shinichi Ito says: “From this year, I am working as a test rider for HRC. I am forty-four years old now and I didn’t expect to have another chance to race in MotoGP. It is a great honor for me and I want to thank all those who gave me this opportunity. Motegi has recovered to the level where we can race, but at my home area Miyagi Prefecture, where I was born and where I live now, there are many who cannot find work nor who is uncomfortable at temporary houses. I feel that the reconstruction of the area has not been done smoothly. Maybe what I can do will be limited. But if I, who had suffered from the quake and who is forty-four years old, can try my best at the Japanese GP, I can give some hope and power to those who had suffered in Tohoku(North East) and to the fans.” Moto2 RIDER QUOTES Viessmann Kiefer Racing-Kalex rider Stefan Bradl says: “I can forget about the championship now. I don’t want to think about it anymore. The only good thing is that I really like the next two circuits. I won the 125 race at Motegi in 2008 and was very fast in qualifying at Phillip Island last year. We had some bad luck at the last race when my rear tyre moved on the rim, but we hope everything will be okay at the next races.” Team CaixaCatalunya Repsol-Suter rider Marc Marquez says: “We will see what happens in Japan I like the circuit. There has been some talk about safety, but I’m happy to go there, no problem. I like the circuit a lot, so we will see if we can maintain the same level. On Friday we start from zero and try to do best like always.” Speed Master-Suter rider Andrea Iannone says: “I had a few doubts about going, but have been reassured by various people that everything is okay. I’m happy to be there and I plan to be fast and competitive again. My team is doing a great job and at Motegi we will do everything we can to get the bike right earlier in the weekend. If we can do that then we can have an even better bike for the race.”