Rossi and Gibernau promise another classic as MotoGP returns at Brno The MotoGP World Championship paddock reconvened after a four-week break at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic this afternoon as the teams and riders prepared for an intense finale to the 2005 season, with seven races scheduled for the next eleven weekends. As tales of summer frolics quickly subsided, attention turned to eleventh round of the MotoGP campaign, with the main protagonists of two stunning races over the past two years at this circuit promising more of the same on Sunday. Valentino Rossi has returned refreshed from a brief holiday in his native Italy with his sights firmly focused on rounding off an incredible second season as a Yamaha rider with his fifth consecutive MotoGP title. After eight victories from the opening ten rounds the 26-year-old leads the series by 120 points and needs just two more wins to guarantee the title. If he needed any extra motivation for this weekend’s race he will take it from defeat here last season by 3.5 seconds from Sete Gibernau. “Last year we had a good race but I arrived second so this time we will try to do better,” said Rossi, who beat Gibernau to take victory by less than half a second at the same event in 2003. “It has been nice to have a break and gather more power for the end of the season, also Yamaha have worked hard to get some new parts ready for the last few races so we are ready. This is the difficult part of the season, with a lot of flights and a lot of races in a short space of time but we have to keep working and hopefully our good form will continue.” Gibernau has only won once since last season’s race here but, after losing out to Rossi on the final lap of the last round at Sachsenring, he has promised his fans a victory before the end of the season and sees no reason why it can’t come this Sunday. “I’m looking forward to having fun on the bike again, having good races and Brno is always a circuit I look forward to,” commented the Spaniard. “Last year we won in the Czech Republic and I remember it as one of the most enjoyable races of the season. That victory and the good sensations I left with from the last race in Germany mean that I’m returning to the championship feeling mentally strong. The holidays have been short but I managed to disconnect and I’m coming back to work with plenty of energy.” John Hopkins was the most noteworthy visitor to the Clinica Mobile today as he prepares to race just four weeks after breaking his foot and damaging ligaments in a nasty crash at Sachsenring. The American has undergone an operation on the injuries during the summer break but Suzuki Team Manager Paul Denning says he is expecting gritty return from the youngster. “John is now back to full fitness and I’m sure he will be going all out to get the results that his performances this year have deserved,” said Denning, who will also count on the services of experienced Japanese wildcard rider Nobuatsu Aoki this weekend. “We are looking forward to Suzuki running a three-man team and I know that Nobu will work hard as always. Race weekend experience and information is generally more relevant than pure testing and we hope that Nobu can show a good pace.” 250cc World Champion Dani Pedrosa is expecting another tough weekend as he aims to extend his lead at the top of the standings over Casey Stoner. The Spaniard currently leads the Australian by 50 points and is looking forward to competing again after just two races in the last two months for the quarter-litre category. “We already had a few days off before Sachsenring because the 250s and 125s didn’t go to Laguna Seca but these were real holidays,” said Pedrosa. “I was able to rest and disconnect for a few days and even though I only took a week off it is always good to come back to the battle at full strength. I’m satisfied with what we have done during the first half of the championship but I hope to finish it even better.” 125cc World Championship leader Thomas Lüthi has never scored points at this circuit but the Swiss youngster will be counting on local support as he looks to defend a three-point lead over Mika Kallio this weekend. Lüthi rides for a Czech sponsored team and his logo is emblazoned on the grandstand hoardings that overlook the starting grid at the legendary circuit. “I had a lot of supporters at the last round in Germany so hopefully people will get behind me here too,” said Lüthi. “I have had bad luck at this circuit in the past so hopefully that will change on Sunday because it will be another tough race.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: FEATURE – CZECH REPUBLIC GRAND PRIX – 28/08/05 BRNO THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS In 19 years of grand prix racing Alex Barros had not experienced many tougher weeks. The 34 year old Brazilian veteran sat in the Camel Honda hospitality unit in the Sachsenring paddock on the eve of the German Grand Prix, fulfilling all his media requirements with his usual politeness and patience. His face showed nothing of the last six days he’d endured, before embarking on a his 251 st grand prix appearance the next day. Six days earlier he’d drawn on all those vast resources of experience and sheer determination, to finish third in the British Grand Prix at Donington Park in truly appalling conditions. He’d led the way after the first day of practice at the Sachsenring in tropical weather but also crashed twice. In qualifying on Saturday afternoon, he’s just established his fastest lap which put him on the front row of the grid for the race, when he fell again going into the first corner. So just another day in the office for the rider who always wanted to be a grand prix racer ever since watching the European races on television back home in Sao Paulo. He even broke the rules to put himself into those television pictures back home by competing in his first grand prix when he was just 15 years old. It came as a bit of a shock. “It was the 80 cc race at Jarama in Spain in 1986 and I remember it was a very tough race,” recalled Barros.” I think I qualified in around 22nd place and crashed four times. I told the team afterwards I never thought racing in the World Championship would be that hard but it was also a day of great emotion. Carlos Lavado won the 250 and Wayne Gardner the 500, after World Champion Freddie Spencer retired with an arm problem and he never finished on the podium again.” Barros completed a couple of seasons in the 80 cc class and just one in the 250’s when he was thrown into the deep end, with the chance to join the Italian Cagiva team and grand prix legend Randy Mamola, competing in the blue riband 1990 500cc World Championship. “It was a great opportunity although I’d been keen to stay in the 250cc class, but Yamaha would not give me an answer about a factory machine and Cagiva were pushing for an answer and so I joined the 500’s, where I’ve been ever since,” explained Barros, who has made a record 220 starts in the class, finished in the top ten 166 times, scored World Championship points 176 times, finished in the top ten for 12 successive years and has won seven races.” The Cagiva was not a winning machine and it gave me a great opportunity learn about the 500’s . I gained enormous experience with Cagiva for three years, then joined Suzuki and at last won my first race. Ironically, that first win came where it had all started seven years earlier, the dusty Jarama circuit on the outskirts of Madrid. “It was a very special day although I’d come close on a couple of previous occasions,” he recalled.” My first podium was the year before in Assen and then in my first year with Suzuki in 1993, I crashed on the last lap at Assen with Kevin Schwantz and Mick Doohan while leading and also at Jerez the same year. I had to wait until the last race of the year to at last win a grand prix.” “All my victories have been very nice and especially those with Sito Pons’s team including my win for Camel Honda in Portugal this year, but some of the races I’ve not actually won, have given me as much satisfaction. I had some great races riding the 500cc two-stroke Honda against Valentino Rossi’s four-stroke in 2002 and putting the twin-cylinder Honda on the podium at Donington Park in 1997, gave me great satisfaction and the same emotion as a victory.” Not surprisingly Barros rates the RCV Honda, that has brought him three of his six grands prix wins, as his favourite machine. At the moment he has no plans to return home to Brazil for a quiet life with his wife Patricia and their three children Lucas,Yasmine and Marina. Instead he will keep his European base in Barcelona and continue racing the fastest motorcycles the world has ever seen. “I never believed I would be racing for so long but you must always make the most of the opportunities that come your way and it’s a great life that I still enjoy very much,” revealed the Brazilian, who celebrates his 35th birthday two days after the Australian Grand Prix and just five days before the very first Turkish Grand Prix in October. “I don’t plan on making any long contracts because at my age many things can happen in one year. At the moment I have really good emotions about riding the machines and still enjoy it so much. I will continue as long as I enjoy it and as long as I’m competitive, .but who knows after one year. I race to race. Some people think it’s important to participate but I race to win and as long as I still feel I can win, I will continue my career.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Brno Agust 25th, 2005 Czech Republic GP Preview Bridgestone Confident After Summer Development After the traditional summer break, the MotoGP paddock gears up for hot action again with the Czech Grand Prix in Brno. Located some 220 kilometres southeast of Prague within beautiful green hillsides, the current circuit has hosted motorcycle GP’s since 1987 and has always offered close and fascinating racing action with spectacular overtaking manoeuvres. Unlike many other modern tracks with tight chicanes and full emphasis on late braking and hard acceleration, the 5.403 kilometre track flows gently through the natural landscape, with interesting up- and downhill sections, and a well-balanced combination of 14 long and sweeping corners that require a smooth riding style, precision and a good feel for grip on the very edge of the tyres. Despite an increase in waves and bumps from recent car and truck racing action, the Brno track offers high levels of grip without being too aggressive on the tyres. Good turning and handling qualities for quick direction changes are as important as braking stability and consistent grip at full lean angle and under acceleration. Over the years, Bridgestone have conducted numerous development tests in Brno, and always scored strong results at the Czech Grand Prix, such as fourth place in last year’s round. But the encouraging history on this particular track is not the only boost of confidence for Bridgestone’s teams and riders: The German Grand Prix four weeks ago marked a significant step forward in Bridgestone’s tyre development program, with Ducati star Loris Capirossi clocking the fastest lap of the race, and with Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano scoring a remarkable sixth place, only 4.5 seconds behind race winner Valentino Rossi. Suzuki’s John Hopkins ran into bad luck at the Sachsenring with a nasty crash, aggravating an injury in his left foot. However, the broken bone was plated in the USA, and Hopkins is fully fit again to race in Brno. Team Suzuki is reinforced this weekend with Japanese wild card rider Nobuatsu Aoki, a former Grand Prix hero who now plays an integral part in Suzuki’s and Bridgestone’s development program as a test rider. For this year’s Czech Grand Prix, Bridgestone is in better shape than ever. Whereas most members of the MotoGP family enjoyed their holidays, the tyre technicians pushed ahead with their development work, and came up with a choice of 3-4 different front tyres, and 7 10 different rear tyres for Brno. In order to satisfy the different demands of the riders and to cater for all possible weather conditions, a total of 1100 tyres were shipped to the Czech Republic. Hiroshi Yamada – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “Before the summer break, we were able to confirm the high performance of our latest generation tyres, as Shinya Nakano finished the race only 4.5 seconds behind the leader. During the summer break, we have steadily progressed in our development, and will introduce some new spec tyres for the Czech GP. Brno is a track that suits the characteristics of our tyres well, so we hope to achieve good results this weekend before heading back to our home GP in Japan!”