Pedrosa and Marquez ready for their home race in Catalunya
. By Bikeland Staff
This weekend the 2013 MotoGP World Championship arrives in Barcelona for the sixth round on the calendar and the home race for Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez.
The Montmelò track is a favourite for Dani and Marc, where the incredible atmosphere from the home fans gives them the extra motivation to perform. Dani has a fantastic record here having won in all classes with a total of eight podiums, and holds the circuit record (1'42.358, the fastest lap in 2008 on his way to victory). This weekend will mark Dani's 200th Grand Prix start and after his second place finish in Mugello he maintains his lead in the World Championship with 103 points.
Dani's teammate Marc is also no stranger to success at the 4,727km Catalunyan Circuit. He has enjoyed three podiums in the past three years and will be looking to continue this run in his first appearance on the Honda RC213V MotoGP machine. Marc had a chaotic weekend in Mugello and unfortunately scored his first DNF of the season. Earlier this week Dr. Mir confirmed the rookie rider has not suffered any other injuries and should be fully fit for this weekend. He currently lies 3rd in the Championship with 77 points.
After Sunday's GP, the team will pack up and relocate to Aragon for a two day test on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Dani Pedrosa Championship Standing: 1st - 103 points
"Mugello was a tricky weekend but in the end to come away with second place and 20 Championship points is a good result. I've been able to rest a little since returning from Italy and now we head to my home Grand Prix in Catalunya, still leading the World Championship. This track is one of the circuits where you stay on the edge of the tyre longer and also a long time turning right so it's important to have a good feeling with the tyres. In general it's a nice track and with a very special atmosphere, all my family and friends come to support me and the fans are incredible. Hopefully the weather is good there and we can put on a good race for everyone at my 200th Grand Prix start!"
Marc Marquez Championship Standing: 3rd - 77 points
"After crashing out in Mugello I really can't wait to get back on the bike at my home GP in Montmelò! I am more relaxed after seeing Dr. Mir last week and he confirmed there are no complications with my injuries and I am on my way to feeling 100% again. I really hope we have good weather in Barcelona so that once again, we can make the most out of all the free practice sessions. This is another track where all the other riders have much more experience than me and they will be extra tough to beat! But we will keep to our own programme and work hard and try our best"
Rider Statistics - Dani Pedrosa
Age 27
Racing number 26
Race machine Honda RC213V
Date of birth September 29, 1985
Birthplace Sabadell - Spain
Height 160cm
Weight 51kg
Hobbies Cycling, Music
Grand Prix debut 2001, 125cc Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
First GP win 2002, 125cc Dutch Grand Prix, Assen
GP wins 48: 8 x 125cc, 15 x 250cc, 24 x MotoGP
GP podiums 115: 17 x 125cc, 24 x 250cc, 74 x MotoGP
GP pole positions 43: 9 x 125cc, 9 x 250cc, 25 x MotoGP
World Championships 3: 1 x 125cc (2003); 2 x 250cc (2004, 2005)
Previous results at Catalunya 2012 2nd (MotoGP), 2011 DNS (MotoGP), 2010 2nd (MotoGP), 2009 6th (MotoGP), 2008 1st (MotoGP), 2007 3rd (MotoGP), 2006 DNF (MotoGP), 2005 1st (250cc), 2004 2nd (250cc), 2003 1st (125cc), 2002 2nd (125cc), 2001 7th (125cc)
Rider Statistics - Marc Marquez
Age 20
Racing number 93
Race machine Honda RC213V
Date of birth February 17, 1993
Birthplace Lleida, (Catalonia) - Spain
Height 168cm
Weight 59kg
Hobbies Mountain Biking, Video games
Grand Prix debut 2008, 125cc Portugal GP, Estoril
First GP win 2010, 125cc Italian GP, Mugello
GP wins 27: 10 x 125cc, 16 x Moto2, 1 x MotoGP
GP podiums 43: 14 x 125cc, 25 x Moto2, 4 x MotoGP
GP pole positions 29: 14 x 125cc, 14 x Moto2, 1 x MotoGP
World Championships 2: 1 x 125cc (2010), 1 x Moto2 (2012)
Previous results at Catalunya 2012 3rd (Moto2), 2011 2nd (Moto2), 2010 1st (125cc), 2009 5th (Moto2), 2008 10th (125cc)
Championship standings
1 Dani Pedrosa 103 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 91 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Marc Marquez 77 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Cal Crutchlow 71 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 Andrea Dovizioso 50 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
6 Valentino Rossi 47 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
7 Nicky Hayden 45 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
8 Alvaro Bautista 38 pts SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
9 Stefan Bradl 30 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
10 Aleix Espargaro 28 pts SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar
11 Bradley Smith 24 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
12 Michele Pirro 22 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Test Team
13 Andrea Iannone 21 pts ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
14 Hector Barbera 13 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
15 Randy De Puniet 11 pts FRA ART Power Electronics Aspar
16 Ben Spies 9 pts USA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
17 Danilo Petrucci 8 pts ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
18 Michael Laverty 3 pts GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
19 Colin Edwards 3 pts USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
20 Yonny Hernandez 3 pts COL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
21 Karel Abraham 2 pts CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
22 Hiroshi Aoyama 1 pts JAP FTR Avintia Blusens
23 Lukas Pesek 0 pts CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
24 Blake Young 0 pts USA APR CRT Attack Performance
25 Claudio Corti 0 pts ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
26 Bryan Staring 0 pts AUS FTR Go & Fun Honda Gresini
Circuit information
First race 1992
GPs held 21
Laps 25
Race distance 118.175km / 73.425miles
Track length 4.727km / 2.937miles
Track width 12m
Longest straight 1.047km / 0.651miles
Corners 13 (8 right, 5 left)
Pole position Left
Circuits de Catalunya S.L.
Mas "La Moreneta"
P.O. Box 27
08160 Montmeló
Barcelona
Spain
http://www.circuitcat.com/
Circuit records
Pole position 1m41.186s (168.177Km/h) Casey Stoner (Ducati, 2008)
Race lap 1m42.358s (166.251Km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2008)
Race time 43m02.175s (164.756km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2008)
2012 Winner Jorge Lornezo (Yamaha)