Alex Barros and Sebastián Porto playing at home this weekend
Alex Barros is the local hero of the torzida brasileira; Sebastián Porto will also be counting on support and presence of Argentinean fans due to the vicinity.
The World Championship does not rest and after only two days, the teams are crossing the Atlantic Ocean to hold this weekend the seventh round of the Championship, second outside of Europe. The venue since 1996 is the circuit of Jacarepaguá, in Rio de Janeiro, which gives the name to the event.
The circuit is known to be fast, although several bumps and little grip are two important challenges for riders and technicians who must find a balanced and efficient set-up for the machines.In the MotoGP class, Alex Barros is eager to shine in front of his fans and prove that both himself and his Honda RC211V are much more competitive than the results achieved so far. The Brazilian, who suffered a spectacular crash in Assen while riding second and fighting for the victory, has already recovered from the many contusions and hopes that the mistakes that hindered him from stepping on the podium in the last races wont appear anymore. Last year Alex started from the eleventh position and finished twelfth. Now he is seventh in the overall standings with 48 points. His teammate, the North American rider Nicky Hayden, was very satisfied after the Dutch Grand Prix both with the performance of his Honda and with his own performance. He made a great race in Holland remounting from the sixteenth position of the starting grid to the final fifth place, which could have been a third place if there would have been one more lap. A good result considering that he hadnt been able to finish the two previous races. Hayden, who finished fifth in his first year at the Nelson Piquet track after starting from seventh place, will try to continue climbing positions in the Championship. Right now he is ninth overall. Rubén Xaus continues his upward path. He is already eleventh in the overall standings, one point behind the tenth and is still leading clearly since he has twice as much points as the second the fight for the Rookie of the Year title. The Spaniard is looking forward to getting back to the place where he set the provisional pole in the first qualifying practice under heavy rain in 1996, when he took part in five races of the 250cc World Championship.
In the half-litre class, Sebastián Porto faces the Brazilian round under excellent conditions. Clear winner of the Dutch round, Porto consolidated as third of the Championship. Although he has not good memories of last years Grand Prix, where he started from the fourth place but could not finish due to a crash, he is sure to be able to get a good result this time in order to keep on closing the gap to the leader of the 250cc class. His teammate Fonsi Nieto is feeling more comfortable on his Aprilia at every race and should he not have had the tyre problem, he could have already been fighting for a place on the podium in Assen. Fonsi, arrives in Brazil being fifth overall. He didnt have much luck here last year either: starting from the eighth position, he had to retire after only three laps.
In the 125cc, Pablo Nieto keeps the fifth position in the overall standings, although his aim is now to get as many podium finishes as possible and a victory, something he hasnt managed to get until now, although he has been close enough on several occasions. His teammate Sergio Gadea arrives again to a venue he has no reference about, so his first job on Friday will be to learn the layout and get used to the special features of the Brazilian track.
