The World Championship moves to another continent and arrives in South Africa after a sad start.
Daijiro Kato’s death in the minds of all riders and team members.
Suzuka was the start of a World Championship that will be remembered with sadness due to the tragic accident of Daijiro Kato, an accident of which the young 27-year old rider could not recover. Kato’s death last Saturday will be in the minds of all those present in South Africa. With regard to the sporting aspects, the Welkom event will be an excellent occasion for Valentino Rossi to make up for last year. After a race he seemed to have practically under control, joined by his former team-mate, the Japanese Tohru Ukawa, he finally finished second, after two excellent last laps of his rival. And while Rossi will be looking for the victory in one of the few circuits he didn’t win last year, his team-mate Nicky Hayden will be keeping in mind his main goal, i.e. getting experience on a new circuit, and trying to be as competitive as he was in Suzuka, where the young North American rider finished seventh.
In the 250cc, Fonsi Nieto and Toni Elias will be facing up to a challenge, i.e. putting things back into place and showing that they both are big favourites for the title at the end of the season. After a poor season start, both during practice and in the race, Aspar’s pupils arrive in a circuit where they had different luck last year. Fonsi Nieto finished third, getting his first podium finish of the season, while Toni Elias was penalised with a ‘stop & go’ after a jump start, finishing sixteenth. Furthermore, we shouldn’t forget the excellent performance of the Argentinean Sebastián Porto in Suzuka, who after leading more than halfway through the race, managed to finish in a meritorious fourth position, on a bike he practically was riding for the first time. Eighth last year in Welkom, Porto will surely be eager to improve his results this time. And while Porto will be fighting for a place on one of the podium steps, Aspar’s younger pupils, Joan Olivé and Héctor Faubel, will have to be extremely careful on a circuit that may hide a lot of surprises, especially given the engines’ power loss due to the track’s altitude with regard to the sea level.
And in the minor category, Dani Pedrosa will be once again seeking the victory that slipped from his hands in Suzuka, during a race with more accidents than expected. Last year Dani managed to get the pole in Welkom, and finished third. His aim will be no other than getting back on the podium, improving last year’s result if possible. Aspar´s pupils in this category, Pablo Nieto and Héctor Barberá will be looking for something similar. After their different luck in Japan – Barberá crashed during the first laps of the race and Nieto finished seventh – they will surely try to get their first podium of the season on the twisty Welkom circuit.
