VALENCIA GRAND PRIX, VALENCIA October 24/25/26 2008, round 18 of 18 Repsol Honda Team RC212V riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden go into the 2008 MotoGP season finale at Valencia hoping for a repeat of earlier successes at the Spanish venue. Valencia has been a happy hunting ground for both men: Hayden won the 2006 MotoGP World Championship at the track with an epic ride to third, while Pedrosa ruled last year’s Valencia Grand Prix, taking pole position, race victory and the lap record. Both riders come to Valencia on a strong run of form with two podiums each from the last four races. Pedrosa, who last month started using a pneumatic-valve RC212V and Bridgestone tyres, was third at Motegi and second at Sepang last Sunday. Hayden, who still uses Michelin tyres, was second at Indianapolis, third at Phillip Island and a close fourth at Sepang. Hayden rides his final race for Repsol Honda at Valencia, after joining the team at the end of 2002. Valencia is a tight, technical and very asymmetric racetrack, dominated by left-handers, which places very different demands on the left and right sides of the tyres. Machine priorities are agile handling for the many changes of direction and edge grip Valencia packs 14 corners into just 4km. The circuit is surrounded by grandstands, giving the venue a stadium feel. It is a hugely popular event with more than 200,000 fans attending over the weekend. Honda has enjoyed considerable success at Valencia, with four different riders winning the elite class on RCV machinery since the venue joined the MotoGP calendar in 1999: Alex Barros (2002), Valentino Rossi (2003), Marco Melandri (2005) and Pedrosa (2007). Dani Pedrosa “I am really looking forward to Valencia. There will be many Spanish fans there and the Spanish crowd want a Spanish winner! The Circuito Ricardo Tormo is quite short but it’s a great track for the fans because they can see the whole lap. The place is laid out a bit like a stadium, so the atmosphere is fantastic, especially since it’s the last race of the year. I especially enjoy this race, it’s always great to ride in front of so many Spanish fans, you can really feel their support. The track is dominated by left-handers, so the left side of the tyres have quite a hard time. There are a lot of corners in quite a short lap with quite a few changes of direction, so it is very important to have an agile bike. You need to vary your riding style around this track, adjusting your technique according to each corner. Rear grip plays a crucial role, especially edge grip. The conditions are quite cool, so we usually go for intermediate compound tyres.” Nicky Hayden “One more try at ’em! I really love Valencia and I love the atmosphere, it’s always special to race in front of a Spanish crowd. I don’t want to sound soft but it will be an emotional weekend. This team has been family the last six years I was 21 years old when I showed up in Europe from Kentucky! We’ve had a good run together. I’m really grateful for the opportunity Honda gave me. Not a lot of people can say they rode factory Hondas for nine years. From the RC51 on, I’ve ridden some of the baddest bikes ever and worked with some great engineers. We’ll be hoping we can go out strong. Valencia has got a special place in my heart for obvious reasons. I like the way they built the track inside a natural bowl. I like big, fast, flowing tracks too, but I like how Valencia is all right there, you really feel the energy. It’s the last race of the year, so everyone goes all out. On the map it looks like a go-kart track but it doesn’t feel like that riding it. You need a bike that gets round corners better than it goes in a straight line and you’ve got to be aggressive.”