POWER ELECTRONICS ASPAR TEAM HOPE TO CONTINUE FORM ON EUROPEAN SOIL Aleix Espargaró and Randy De Puniet have made a dominant start to the CRT season and will work to continue in the same vein at Jerez The legendary Jerez circuit welcomes the MotoGP World Championship to Europe this weekend as the third round takes place on familiar territory following a trip into the unknown in Texas. A new name was added to the winners’ list at the Grand Prix of Americas, that of Marc Márquez, who arrives at his home race as joint leader of the championship alongside Jorge Lorenzo, winner of the opening round in Qatar. This weekend the pair will do battle for honours at their country’s ‘Cathedral’ of motorcycle racing, Jerez. It is a case of so far so good for the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar team, who have dominated the CRT challenge in each of the opening rounds in Qatar and Texas. Aleix Espargaró and Randy De Puniet have not only finished first and second respectively, they have closed the gap significantly to the factory MotoGP prototypes and already look like being a difficult pairing to beat for the rest of the CRT riders in 2013. Aleix Espargaró: “At last Jerez is here! The opening two races of the season went well but I was looking forward to getting back to Europe and I can’t wait for our first home race of the season. We have done a great job so far and our goal is to keep this going. We have qualified for Q2 at both of the opening two rounds and finished as the best CRT, closing the gap to the factory prototypes, and our goal is to continue in the same way.I have great memories of Jerez from last season and we will do all we can to have a similar weekend. We are already close to finding the limits of this bike in terms of what we can get out of the set-up but we will keep trying to improve what we have.” Randy De Puniet: “I am looking forward to getting to Jerez, a circuit where we have always been very competitive. I love the atmosphere, the layout and the context that the Grand Prix takes place in. We did a good job here during winter testing despite the fact that the weather wasn’t good and I have always had a good feeling at Jerez so I am sure that will continue this weekend and allow us to challenge for a good result. We have had some set-up issues in the first couple of rounds but thankfully we’ve been able to sort them in time for the race. This weekend we want to have a clear idea from the start of the weekend and give Aleix a challenge on Sunday. Jerez is a very technical circuit with a combination of fast and slow corners so we will need to get the bike turning well. Either way I am feeling relaxed because our bike has always worked well there.” More, from a press release issued by MAPFRE Aspar Moto2 Team: TEROL MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN HOME FOR SPANISH GRAND PRIX MAPFRE Aspar rider targets another podium at Jerez following his success in Texas whilst Torres looks to rediscover best form at home track After back-to-back flyaway races the MotoGP World Championship returns to more familiar ground this weekend as the European summer kicks off in earnest with the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. After an opening round that went very much to form in Qatar, the Moto2 class was back to its most unpredictable best in Texas, where Nico Terol picked up his first victory in the intermediate category. The MAPFRE Aspar rider now heads to his home Grand Prix in top form, leading a strong Spanish charge that also includes his team-mate Jordi Torres, not to mention the likes of Pol Espargaró, Tito Rabat and Julian Simón, who all have designs on local glory. Terol remains on a high after his morale-boosting dominance of the inaugural Grand Prix of the Americas last week. He arrives in his home country lying second in the championship and with a clear target of being a consistent podium challenger for the remainder of the season. Torres is equally eager to get out on track in front of his family, friends and fans after suffering from a faulty tyre in Texas. Having been one of the men to beat in preseason testing at Jerez, Jordi is confident of kickstarting his season this weekend. Nico Terol: “It is taken some time for the win in Texas to sink in but I have been able to enjoy it at home with my family and friends. It has taken longer than we hoped to happen but sooner or later it had to happen. We have been doing a good job for a while now but hadn’t managed to follow it up in a race. Now we have done that it gives me even more motivation to continue like this and my morale is sky high. The win last time out was reward for our hard work and now we have to work hard to maintain this level of performance. We know we can win races now so the target is to be on the podium every weekend. I am looking forward to going to Jerez, where I am sure we can be competitive again. We have a lot of dat from preseason, when we were on the pace.” Jordi Torres: “I am very excited about the second round of the season. We spent most of preseason there and I think we have a good set-up. We had plenty of time to try things in the winter so Friday will be a case of refining the set-up and hopefully setting a competitive pace from the start, which will be important. This is a big race for us. We need to make another step with the set-up and start to compete closer to the front. The fact we are starting out with a good base setting will help us a lot because we have a clear idea about what we need to do. I love the grip at Jerez in the dry and wet conditions and I can’t wait to get out on track.” More, from a press release issued by MAPFRE Aspar Moto3 Team: MOTO3 HEADS TO JEREZ, THE ‘CATHEDRAL’ OF SPANISH MOTORCYCLING MAPFRE Aspar rider Jonas Folger targets podium after narrowly missing out in first two races whilst Eric Granado hopes to impress at a circuit he knows well After kicking off the season with two flyaway races the Moto3 World Championship arrives in Europe this weekend as the Spanish Grand Prix signals the start of an intense summer of racing on the ‘old continent’. The circuit of Jerez will provide a warm welcome to all of the riders but in particular the three home favourites fighting for the championship lead: Alex Rins, Luis Salom and Maverick Viñales. Jonas Folger is hoping to spoil the home party, the German looking to finally make the podium after narrowly missing out in Qatar and Texas. MAPFRE Aspar rider Folger will work tirelessly towards his top-three target and knows this weekend is a big opportunity for him to achieve it. After struggling to adapt to the Circuit of Americas he knows he has a set-up for Jerez thanks to the preseason testing that took place here and he will be looking to be on the pace from the first session on Friday morning. Eric Granado is also looking forward to riding at a circuit he knows well, having competed here in the Spanish Championship before taking the step up to world level. The Moto3 rookie was the surprise package of winter testing here and is hoping for a similar outcome this weekend. Jonas Folger: “I am feeling very positive ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. We struggled to adapt to the circuit in Texas but we gathered a lot of data that should prove useful this weekend. The engine performance improved and we found some solutions for the front end that we will continue to experiment with this Friday at Jerez. I am looking forward to getting there, I have confidence in the job we are doing and I am sure we can take the step we need this weekend to fight at the very front. The objective is to do a good job in practice and be ready to fight for the podium on Sunday. I love the Jerez circuit, I know it well from my time in the Academy and it feels like a home race to me.” Eric Granado: “I am so looking forward to getting to Jerez and starting work. Finally we go to a track I know! In the first race in Qatar I struggled to adapt to the circuit and the second race wasn’t easy either although thankfully in Austin we found some solutions that set us on the right path and hopefully we can continue to improve this weekend. I know Jerez really well and I know we are capable of a good result there. In fact, we already had a good feeling there in the final test of preseason and finished in a decent position.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: Gosselies, Belgium: The Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio and Scott Redding head for the third round of the 2013 Moto2 World Championship at Jerez this weekend with some confidence, after an impressive performance from both last time out in Texas. Kallio secured his 36th Grand Prix podium with a hard fought third place finish at the Circuit of the Americas two weeks ago, which saw him leave America tied for second place in the championship standings. The 30-year-old Finn is keen to repeat that success this weekend in Jerez, a track at which he has previously been successful on both 125cc and 250cc machinery. Redding started from pole position for the first time in his Grand Prix career in Texas, but tyre issues in the race thwarted his bid for a second successive podium finish. The 20-year-old Briton rode intelligently to fifth place and the points lead in the Moto2 World Championship standings, a lead he is keen to extend this weekend with a strong showing in Jerez. Livio Loi will make his World Championship debut in the Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez this weekend, after celebrating his 16th birthday just two days ago. The Belgian has already won in France this season and heads to Jerez off the back of two top ten finishes in difficult conditions at the opening round of the Spanish Moto3 Championship, which took place at Circuit de Catalunya last weekend. Situated in southwest Spain on the outskirts of Jerez de la Frontera, the Jerez circuit has a complex layout, offering riders a real challenge. It boasts 13 turns over its 4.42km distance, with a combination of slow technical corners and fast sweeping turns making stability under braking and a good feeling from the front tyre critical when it comes to bike set-up. Mika Kallio #36: “The first few races are the most important, with good results helping to build confidence. Now we’re two races into the season and I’ve been top five in both, so my confidence is high going into Jerez, which is a track that suits my riding style better than Austin. In Texas we managed to sort out the few problems we had ahead of the race and the podium finish showed that I had the pace. For this reason I believe we can fight for a podium again this weekend. That’s the goal, anyway.” Scott Redding #45: “Jerez promises to be a tough weekend, one of the toughest of the season. A lot of riders are fast at this track and the Spanish riders in particular are always keen to do well at home. After just two races the championship is just names on a piece of paper, but at least it shows we’ve started strongly and that we can be in the hunt for the title. If I’m in with a shout of winning races then I’ll go for it, but this year it’s not about winning every race, it’s more about scoring points every weekend. That’s what we did in Texas and that’s how we’ll continue. If I can come away from Jerez still leading the championship then I’ll be satisfied.” Livio Loi #11: “It’s been a long wait but, finally, I get to make my Grand Prix debut this weekend in Jerez and I’m really looking forward to it. I was quick in the wet during preseason testing at the circuit, but we had a few issues with set-up in the dry. This is something we addressed last week while we were at Catalunya and I’m confident that we’ve made a significant improvement in this area now. My main aim this weekend in Jerez is to continue the learning process but, if all goes well, then I think a top 20 finish is a realistic goal.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal “We head to Jerez on a bit of a high after the success of Texas. We are leading the championship, but the pressure will be on the likes of Nico Terol and Pol Espargaro this weekend. It’s their home Grand Prix and I’m sure they’ll be keen to put on a show for their fans. For us it’s just another race; a race that we’ll approach in the same was as we did Qatar and Texas, hopefully with the same result. It’s a big weekend for Livio, as he’ll finally make his Grand Prix debut for the team at Jerez. He’s keen to make his mark straight away, but we need to be realistic with our expectations. He’ll be racing at the very top level for the first time, against riders who’ve already had two races in which to get up to speed, so I’ll be happy if he comes away with a top twenty finish this weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens Racing: The World Championship arrives in Europe with the GP of Jerez where the Avintia Blusens MotoGP team hopes to achieve a good result Barberá and Aoyama are highly motivated for the Andalucian race It seems that most of the riders like the start of the European GPs and the Avintia Blusens MotoGP team is not an exception. Both Héctor Barberá and Hiroshi Aoyama are delighted with the fact that the World Championship arrives in Europe and especially in Jerez. Héctor, because of being a home rider, and Hiroshi, due to compete with a Spanish team, have an extra motivation for this weekend GP and they want to shine in their own right and obtain a good result. Barberá has not been lucky in the first two GPs of the season but he has always been very competitive when problems have moved away from him. Meanwhile, Aoyama has not been able to get rid of some setbacks which have prevented him from reaching the desired setting to ride to the maximum. However, both have quality to be among the best CRTs and one of the objectives is to succeed in Jerez. 8 Héctor Barberá: After the first two races in which we did not have too much luck, the GP of Jerez comes and, as you can imagine, I love to run it and I hope that things will be put in order to achieve our aims. This Grand Prix is special because there is an extraordinary atmosphere and you feel the warmth of the crowd on the track. Certainly, the Spanish riders have a plus of motivation when we race in Spain, so I hope to take advantage of it and offer the team and the fans a great weekend. The team is working well, I feel strong and if luck does not leave us aside, we can get a good result. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama: Starting the European round in Jerez is fantastic because this is a track I like a lot. In fact it is one of my favorite circuits. Before the beginning of the World Championship, we were at this circuit training and carrying out tests which I am sure they will be useful for this GP. I think that if we get a good setting, we will be strong in this race and we will be able to obtain a good result. I am aware that for the Avintia Blusens team it is a particularly important GP because it takes place in Spain, so I wish that everything goes well and I want to contribute to ensure that this is a successful weekend. More, from a press release issued by Blusens Avintia Moto2 Team: The Blusens Avintia riders, Toni Elías and Kyle Smith, expect to shine at the first home Grand Prix The World Championship arrives in Europe, in our country and in one of the mythical circuits on the calendar, Jerez. After the first two GP of Qatar and America, the Blusens Avintia team riders arrive in the Andalucian track with the recharged batteries and with the idea of getting a great result in front of the Spanish fans. Both drivers obtained good records in the last official test in Jerez, so both Elias and Smith hope to achieve their objectives which, logically, are different. While the rookie Kyle will focus on being placed in the top twenty -or even on getting points-, Toni Elías will fight to be in the battle for the podium. It is nothing new the fact that Moto2 is a very difficult class in which there is a great equality and it is expensive to keep every position, but riding at home gives you a bonus and the Blusens Avintia riders want to take advantage of it to offer a good weekend to the team, the sponsors and the fans. 24 Toni Elías: I really like Jerez. It is a track where I am comfortable and in which I hope to do a good race. The first two GP of the season have not been as we had expected, but I am convinced that we are going to improve and to start doing so in Jerez would be perfect. On this track we got good times in the tests we did before going to Qatar, so I am confident of keeping the same line as then. It may sound like a cliché but we are more motivated when we run at home in front of our fans. Seeing the full circuit and knowing that they are there waiting for the best of yourself is incredible. I wish to do it very well. 9 Kyle Smith: It will be a new feeling for me because it will be the first time that I will have a race of the World Championship at home and I am sure that run at a circuit full of fans supporting their riders should be impressive. After my first two races in the World Championship, I arrive in a circuit that I know and I have real expectations of doing well and improving the results that I have obtained so far. The top twenty is the goal but I will deceive you if I do not recognise that I am able to get into the points. If I do a good qualifying and make a good start I can do it.