Valencia draws the line under the 2005 season.
Repsol rider Nicky Hayden will provide for excitement in his fight for the MotoGP runner-up spot with Marco Melandri.
Eight months have passed since the start of the 2005 World Championship in Jerez de la Frontera and after 16 Grand Prix, Valencia and the Ricardo Tormo circuit will set the full stop to this intense season. With the championship titles in the 250cc class and MotoGP already decided, the two mysteries that will provide for excitement this weekend will be the fight for the 125cc championship title and the duel between Finnish rider Kallio and Swiss rider Luthi with advantage for Luthi -, and the intense fight between Nicky Hayden and Marco Melandri for the second final position in the MotoGP class. The Italian has an advantage of nine points, but the Repsol rider has already declared that Valencia is a track he likes, that the season did not start well but that it hasnt finished yet and that hell be giving it all to finish it better. Nicky, who hasnt managed to finish the race last two years despite making brilliant races, hopes to achieve the best result in the overall standings since he started in the Motorcycle World Championship three seasons ago. His teammate Max Biaggi, after a little competitive 2005 season, will try to say goodbye to this season with a positive result on the Valencian track, where he managed to finish second last year.
In the 250cc class, Dani Pedrosa arrives in Valencia as the new 250cc World Champion and with no doubt there will be thousands of fans waiting for the Repsol rider at the track on Friday to pay a deserved tribute to the young rider. Dani, who will be racing his first 250cc race on Sunday after announcing that he would be moving to the premier class next season, declares that he is still focussed and ready to wave the year goodbye with a victory to be able to offer it to the fans at the circuit. Sebastián Porto, conscious about the support the Spanish riders will have in Spain, does not hide his wish to fight again for the victory in this last chance he has this season. And even if he is openly saying that it will be difficult, the tireless Repsol rider will be one of the names to be borne in mind in Ricardo Tormo this weekend. Randy De Puniet and Hiroshi Aoyama, with more or less luck along the 2005 season, will also be getting onto the track this weekend in Valencia with the aim of finishing the year with a positive year. And in the minor class, Jorge Martínez Aspars pupils are going to race at home, supported by thousands of fans that will join them this weekend. Héctor Faubel and Sergio Gadea will possibly be the two best Repsol riders on the track, although Joan Olivé, Jordi Carchano, Julián Miralles and Mateo Túnez will surely give their best as well in front of the best fan crowd of the world championship.
Rider´s comments:
MotoGP. Max Biaggi:
After the race of Turkey, where I’ve felt a deep sorrow for the twelfth place, the important thing is to look forward and to try to react in a positive way. Valencia can be the correct circuit for this, not only because I have a great memory of last year, when I got a podium finish after having fought for the victory, but because I really like this track, although it’s a particular one, narrow and not so fast. I would like to get a good result for my team.
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden:
Valencia is a track I have gone well at in the past, but have never finished the race there in the last two years. On both occasions I have got caught up in it being the last race of the year. I just let it all hang out and unfortunately crashed both years going for it. So I guess this year will be no different other then we want to finish. Marco pulled some big points last week but we won’t quit till the flag flies on Sunday. We came back from a bad start to the season, but it ain’t over yet.
250cc. SebastiánPorto:
This season is being very difficult for us. We didnt manage to score in Turkey and the truth is that weve been rather irregular in general. I arrive in Valencia eager to get a good result, but first well have to set the bike to let it be competitive again in order to fight for the leading spots. For me, racing in Spain is like racing at home, so I’ll try to get on the podium to finish the year in the best possible way. It will be a hard job because Spanish riders such as Lorenzo, Barberá and Pedrosa, will have the support of all the fans and that helps you a lot. Last year in Cheste, I had the bad luck of crashing while being second. It was a shame because we lost an almost sure place on the podium. Lets see if we manage to finish this year in a different way.
250cc. Randy De Puniet:
Were at the end of the championship and despite the bad luck weve had this season, Id like to get a good result in Valencia to be able to celebrate it with my team. Cheste is a circuit I like; last year I managed to get on the podium and this year Id really like to do it again, to finish with a good result. Weve had a lot of problems this season and the truth is that Im not satisfied. But this weekend Ill give 100% as always.
250cc. Dani Pedrosa:
Since I arrived from Turkey I havent stopped receiving proves of affection and congratulations from everybody. Its been a complicated end of the season and a little stressing. You are so concentrated in your stuff that you really dont notice what you have achieved and the support youve had from the people. Then you get back home and see how they have been living it. I can imagine how Valencia is going to look like this weekend! Id love to make a really good race to thank the fans for their support. It will be a special Grand Prix for me because it will be the end of a phase; it will be my last race in the 250cc class. But I dont want to think much about that and let it affect me. I want to enjoy the race as much as I can and finish the best I can. On Monday, Ill have a break and start thinking about the future.
250cc. Hiroshi Aoyama:
Valencia is the end of a very important season for me. A season where Ive grown as a rider in an incredible team, where Ive felt like at home. I want to dedicate a good result to all of them and I know that we can do a good job in this circuit. We did a great race last year; the team did an excellent job throughout the weekend, we finished third, but we were all very sad after the disqualification. I hope to be able to make up for it this weekend and fight again for the podium as we did in Turkey. I would also like to finish third overall. It would be a great result both for me and the team.
125cc. Héctor Faubel:
Valencia is a track I like a lot. It is with no doubt one of the most tiring circuits of the World Championship but it also has everything necessary to be am amusing circuit, both for riders and spectators, and above all what is more important, is that we are racing at home. In Valencia and in the rest of the country, fans love to come out to the racetracks and watch the races, and riders enjoy racing here. Moreover the nice thing of this circuit is that people are very close to the track. My team and I will do our best to let everything be perfect, from the first day to the race. Luck wasnt on our side in Turkey and I want to make up in Cheste, no matter how. Ill be giving 100% to get a good result in front of all Spanish fans. Lets see if luck is once and for all on our side.
125cc. Sergio Gadea:
After the incident in Turkey, where we had big expectations but finally didnt score any point, I arrive in Cheste in high spirits. This is a circuit I like a lot, it is actually my favourite track, but the most important is that we are racing at home in front of all our fans that will come out to support us. It will be a hard race because there will be a lot of rivalry between all Spanish riders, but I’m also sure that it will be a very nice race, in group, and I hope to finish it on the podium. The venue of the GP Ricardo Tormo Circuit (www.circuitvalencia.com)
The Cheste circuit opened its doors in 1999 and since then, the Comunitat Valenciana Grand Prix has always been part of the world championship calendar. Named Ricardo Tormo Circuit in 2002, in honour of a late Valencian rider, the track’s main feature is the fact of being one of the narrowest of the Championship – measuring 12 metres in width as well as its twisty corners. With a length of 4,005 metes, the circuit has a total of 14 corners five right-handers and nine left-handers-, and a main straight of 876 metres in length. It was especially designed to let riders have the best balance in the race. Another peculiarity of the track is that it goes counter-clockwise, unlike most of the circuits on the calendar. Despite being a rather small track, the circuit covers a total surface of 1.5 million m². Located in Cambrillas, Cheste, it is only 20 km from the city of Valencia and 15 km from the airport of Manises. Its privileged location provides it with a large communication network. The main building hosts forty-eight pit garages, and the large grandstands surrounding the track have capacity to receive 150,000 spectators. It is equipped with the latest technical developments and its facilities have been conceived under the concept of functionality, modernity and safety. Its impeccable design, following the American canon, allows for a complete visibility of the layout to let spectators follow all incidences on the race from equidistant points, without missing any detail. Another feature differentiating the Ricardo Tormo circuit from all other European circuits is the disposition of the buildings around the track, as well as paddock, riders, press and services car parks. The location of the circuit, together with the good weather conditions of the region of Valencia, turn this track into a point of reference for many racing teams that enjoy excellent facilities to work all year long.
Jorge Martínez, Aspar, former World Champion and one of the fathers of this circuit, collaborated in the design of the only left-hand going circuit in Spain, where both riders and the especially enthusiastic fans from Valencia enjoy a unique atmosphere. An atmosphere that will for sure end up in a big party, because it will be the last Grand Prix of the calendar. Shinya Nakano has the 250cc track record since 2000 (136.398); the 125cc is in the hands of Steve Jenkner since 2002 (140.252), while the MotoGP record was set by Valentino Rossi in 2003 (133.317).
