HONDA RIDERS BACK AT HOME ON THE CONTINENT2012-04-24 18:39The MotoGP World Championship may have kicked off earlier this month in Qatar, but many believe the true start of the season is at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, where Honda riders have dominated the 25-year history of the race. The roster of Honda riders who have won in Jerez is a who�s who of world champion; Gardner, Doohan, Criville, Rossi, Lawson and, in 2008, two-time 250cc World Champion Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) started his 2012 campaign with a strong second place finish under the desert lights in Qatar and is looking forward to the first of his four home races. The Spaniard has an enviable record in Jerez. He has finished no worse than second in every race going back to 2005. The tally includes a MotoGP win in 2008, five seconds, and a 250cc win in his second world championship season of 2005. Included in that string are six front row starts, with two MotoGP poles and a 250cc pole. The Spanish Grand Prix will be a landmark for Pedrosa; it makes his 100th appearance in the premier class. The Jerez circuit also served as the final pre-season testing venue of 2012. As he had done most of the pre-season, Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner was dominant, setting fast time on two of the three days, with Pedrosa a close third. The pre-season test is now of little consequence to Stoner. He has done well in the past in Jerez, though he is yet to win. His concern is the arm pump that he suffered while running away with what seemed a certain victory in Qatar. With two free weekends to rest and recover, and a return to his home and family in Switzerland, Stoner is refreshed and ready to re-assert his dominance. To do that the team will have to come up with a solution to the front chatter problem that has bedeviled most of the MotoGP paddock, and Stoner in particular. But while he has been resting the team has been working and he is confident he can return to his winning ways in Jerez. And extend his podium streak to 17. The reigning world champion also wants to put the 2011 Jerez race behind him. Jerez was the lone blemish on an otherwise spotless record of podium finishes in every race last year. It was at Jerez that he was knocked down by another rider and forced to retire. Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) finished the Jerez test with the ninth fastest time, just in front of MotoGP rookie Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V). Bautista did not enjoy his debut race aboard the Honda in Qatar. The Spaniard never found the confidence to push as he had done in early pre-season testing. Still, his persistence paid off with a seventh place finish in his first outing on the San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V. During his formative years, Bautista had success in Jerez. His first ever grand prix win came in the season-opening 125cc GP in 2006. The following year he finished second. Three years into his move to the 250cc class, he finished second in 2009. Last year Bautista was on the sidelines of the Spanish GP after breaking his femur in Friday night practice at the Qatar curtain-raiser. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) was on the pole of last year�s Moto2 race in Jerez, from where he launched to a fifth place finish. The MotoGP machine is a different animal on the physically demanding track, which Bradl discovered during the pre-season test. The 2011 Moto2 World Champion clocked the tenth fastest time, just behind Bautista. In his MotoGP debut in Qatar, Bradl was impressive. The young German never put a wheel wrong and was in a strong sixth position late in the contest. Only the experience of riders he had held at bay until late in the race prevented him from a truly satisfying end to his first race. Still, he was the highest placed rookie and finished in front of a number of factory riders on his satellite machine. Michel Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR-Honda) has spent the time between Qatar and Jerez getting updates on the team�s development progress of the Honda CBR1000RR-powered FTR. The young Italian began his MotoGP career on a motorcycle that was in very raw form having not had the benefit of much pre-season testing. Pirro did the best he could in Qatar, while not overriding the still developing machine. The one test where Pirro was able to put the FTR-Honda through its paces was in Jerez, which is why he is looking forward to going to a track where the team can make use of the earlier data. Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol � Suter) had success in his second year on the world championship trail when he finished third in the 2009 125cc Spanish GP, his lone podium of the season. The next two years have brought less success, with Marquez not finishing either race. That will not weigh very heavily on the mind of the 2011 Moto2 World Championship runner-up. The second half of the 2011 championship brought serial victories and he was the favorite to win the title until practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, where a corner marshal failed to warn him of wet conditions and he crashed. Marquez suffered frightening double vision for all of the autumn and most of the winter. It was only at the final Moto2 test that he was able to take part. Now fully fit, his talent is back on display. Certainly it was in Qatar where he won a thrilling victory over Andrea Iannone (Speed Master � Speed Up) by a scant .061s. Marquez has another reason to be both anxious and excited this weekend. His younger brother, Alex, who turned 16 on April 23, will make his grand prix debut as a wild card in the Moto3 class on a team managed by Emilio Alzamora. Iannone also finished second in last year�s Qatar season-opener. He followed it up with a convincing victory in Jerez, the first of three wins on the season. Clearly �Crazy Joe� likes the track, as do most riders. And the compact, all-new aluminium Speed Up chassis with the carbon swingarm, which had its race debut in Qatar, has proven to be the equal of its competitors. Pol Espargaro (Pons HP Tuenti � Kalex) finished third in the first race of his second Moto2 season in Qatar. The younger brother of Aleix Espargaro and the youngest rider to ever score a point in a grand prix, Espargaro is one of ten Spaniards looking to make an impact in the Moto2 race this year in Jerez. Maverick Vinales (Avintia Racing Moto3 �FTR-Honda) began his quest for the first ever Moto3 World Championship with a championship-calibre ride in Qatar. Vinales did not panic when class debutante Romano Fenati made a stunning start to his grand prix career. The young Spaniard waited for the opening he knew would come, then sped to a dominant victory, putting his name in the record books as the first winner of a Moto3 race. Last year, Vinales won four times in the final year of 125s en route to third place in the last 125cc World Championship. This weekend in Jerez, the 2011 125cc Rookie of the Year hopes to extend his winning streak to four, a streak which began at last year�s Malaysian Grand Prix. Fenati (Team Italia FMI � FTR-Honda) made a huge impression in his grand prix debut. A product of the Italian Motorcycle Federation, which has an ambitious program of nurturing young Italian riders, Fenati was not fazed by the lights in Qatar, nor leading his first ever grand prix. Fenati eventually gave way to Vinales, but still came home 14s in front of the third place finisher. Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0.0 � Suter-Honda) was one of five riders vying for the final podium spot in Qatar. The Portuguese rider eventually finished on the same second as the third place finisher in fifth place. Oliveira was not on the pace during the Jerez pre-season test, though he expects the team will find a solution this weekend. The circuit at Jerez de la Frontera hosted its first World Championship race in 1987 at the track in Andalucia known for sherry-Jerez is the Spanish word for sherry-and the famous Lippizan stallions of the Spanish Riding School. Neither provides the thrills that Jerez has brought the hundreds of thousands of fans who jam the roads leading the track every year. The first race in 1987 was won by Wayne Gardner, after which Eddie Lawson won on a Rothmans Honda NSR500 in 1989. Then Gardner won again in 1990 before five-time 500cc World Champion won for the first of four times in Jerez. Also winning on Hondas in Jerez were Alberto Puig; now the manager and mentor of Dani Pedrosa, 1999 500cc World Champion Alex Criville; a three-time winner, Valentino Rossi; who won from 2001 through 2003, first on an NSR500 then on a Honda RC211V. The 2004 race was won by Gresini Honda rider Sete Gibernau, with Pedrosa taking Honda�s most recent victory in 2008. The 4.423Km track has 13 corners, five lefts and eight rights with a longest straight of only 607m. The lack of a long straightaway puts added emphasis on finding a good set-up for the corners, many of which are linked and require a strategy that rewards precision and constancy over aggression. The end of the lap begins with the two fastest corners, the double rights Criville and Ferrari. Then comes the final left hand hairpin, a slow corner which is often the scene of late-race drama, after which the riders race to the stripe. MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) �The pre-season test at Jerez was positive for us. We had good feelings on the bike and finished happy, so I'm really looking forward to going there for the grand prix this weekend. We need to be very focused and have a good qualifying session in order to start the race in a good position. I love the Jerez circuit and the passionate support of the Spanish fans. I hope the grandstands are full again, as it adds to the unique atmosphere there. We had a great race in Qatar and to start the season on the podium is important, but we cannot relax. We will be aiming for another strong race this weekend.� Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) �After a difficult race in Qatar, I'm looking forward to Jerez. We had a very good pre-season test there; it's a track that hasn't been so good for me in the past so the fact we were able to hold a good pace there in testing has given us a lot of confidence. We still have some issues that we really need to resolve with the bike, especially the chattering in the entrance and exit of the corner. When we solve these we believe we will have a very competitive package. Since Qatar I've been working on the arm pump issue I experienced in the race and it's definitely feeling better. We've treated it the same way as when I had it in 2010 at Silverstone, so I'm hoping it won't be a problem for us this weekend.� Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) �I am really looking forward to the first round in Europe. We have tested the bike there in March gathering useful data for the race weekend and I was comfortable with the bike�s overall package. I am happy to be back in Europe because we return to the standard time schedule and the atmosphere especially in Spain is very warm. I like the track even if I feel the difference between the lower classes and the MotoGP bike: it seems that the track is smaller because the riding style is different. The race will be also harder (physically speaking) as there are no long straights and just a few relax points along the track but I feel ready.� Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) �It was a tough weekend for us in Qatar because I struggled to find the confidence with the bike that I had enjoyed during preseason testing. We tried a lot of things without ever establishing a good feeling and I had to work very hard in the race to get 100% out of what we had. It was important for us to finish the race and to finish it in sixth was a positive way to finish a difficult weekend. During this short break I have been training hard every day and enjoying some time relaxing with my family, without ever taking my mind off the job. We have some extra PR work to do this weekend, but I always look forward to Jerez because it is a very special race to me. I missed out last year through injury but we gathered some good data during preseason that should help us have a good race on Sunday. Our objective is to run with the guys at the front, which would be great because it is always such a pleasure to race at Jerez in front of the fans. Jerez always feels like the true start to the season because it is the first European round and everything runs according to the normal daytime schedule. It is a real festival of motorcycles and it's exciting for the fans and riders. I have some unforgettable memories of Jerez because it was here that I took my first ever grand prix win and it would be nice if I could get my first MotoGP podium here too.� Michele Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR-Honda) �It was exciting for me to make my MotoGP debut in Qatar, racing alongside so many great champions. Unfortunately it wasn't an easy debut from a technical point of view because our bike still has some teething problems, which is to be expected, so I wasn't able to find my limit despite a lot of hard work from the team. They are putting in a huge effort and I hope that is rewarded in a positive fashion in Jerez. It won't be easy because we don't have a magic wand to wave but I am confident that we can take another step forward and be on the pace of the best CRT bikes out there. Jerez is one of the best events on the calendar and the atmosphere there is very special. We all believe in this project and hopefully Jerez can prove to be a launchpad to bigger and better things.� MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol - Suter) �We head to Jerez happy and motivated. The win in Qatar gives us plenty of confidence, but we have to stay alert because the pressure and desire to do well in front of the Spanish fans could take its toll. The Circuito de Jerez is a track at which we rode in preseason and there are many riders who are fast there, so we will have to be 100% focused in order to have a good weekend.� MOTO3 RIDER QUOTES Maverick Vinales (Avintia Racing Moto3 � FTR-Honda) �The Spanish Grand Prix is always special. You are riding at home, you feel the support of the crowd and your motivation goes up a notch. This year is going to be even more special, because for the first time in my life I head to a Grand Prix as the World Championship leader. To be doing that at Jerez, you couldn�t ask for more. The track is technical and combines slow and fast turns, but is well suited to my riding style. In testing just before Qatar we were fast here and established a fairly good setup, which gives us optimism ahead of this race. The season has only just begun, there are many races to go and it will be difficult to keep our form up all season. I can�t wait to soak up the great atmosphere of this race and to try and gain the good result that allows us to maintain a strong position in the standings.� Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI � FTR-Honda) �We hope to do our best for Jerez. In pre-season we went good. I hope to do the first position, but I don�t know.� Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0,0 - Suter-Honda) �This will be a tougher GP than Qatar, because in preseason testing we were a little bit off the best times. I believe in the team and I am sure that we will find a setting that allows us to be competitive. I liked the circuit more with the 125cc; on a Moto3 I�m finding things a little more difficult, but that is maybe to do with the chassis problem from preseason. I�m sure that we will improve.� Source: Honda Pro Image Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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