Class number in the face of the 2005 season
Dani Pedrosa has reached the end of the 2005 preseason looking forward to the start of the Spanish Grand Prix
Hes the current world champion of the class, hes being carefully observed by the remaining 29 rider who will be racing him during the next 2005 season, that is just about to start, and he knows perfectly well that it will be very difficult to repeat the performance of last year. The contenders are getting stronger, Aprilia has improved a lot and he knows that this time he wont be counting on the element of surprise. Fourteen days before the 2005 Road Racing Championship opens the curtain for the Spanish Grand Prix and only a couple of minutes after getting off his bike, finishing the 2005 preseason, Dani Pedrosa analyses what has happened during the winter and gives us his personal view of what is yet to come. Whats your assessment of your preseason?In the end, were leaving Jerez having solved the carburetion and suspension problems wed been having both in Barcelona and here and that had delayed our working plan at the beginning. We finally managed to complete everything we had planned and thats positive. Its been a long preseason, compared to the one I had last year and I would assess it as good and productive. The other riders are being very fast for the moment, but were happy with our progression and performance. Main rivals for 2005…Its obvious that Porto is very strong, but we also have to consider De Puniet and De Angelis, as well as those riders who have come up from the 125cc class. Theyve all been lapping very fast. Both the riders and the bikes are working very hard. Youve mentioned the class rookies, what a role do you think theyre going to play?Theyre getting better every day and theyre already setting fast times. We also have to consider that Barberá, Lorenzo and Dovizioso are Honda riders as well and that Stoner has also been very fast here in Jerez. But well have to wait and see how they do it in the race. They still have to get the pace, although well surely see them on the podium more than once. It will certainly be a hard-fought and complicated year. The show will begin in two weeks, how do you think the start in Jerez will be?Its hard to say, although the fact that the first race is going to be in the same place as the first tests may give us some hints. Its going to be a much contended race, Im sure that many of us will be in the front and were all eager to start. The last times set have been very fast, so we only need to know how the fans will react, although Im sure that theyre going to be excellent, as always. What are your plans before the first race?Theres not much time left before the Grand Prix in Jerez and the preseason has been hard, so were going to take a rest and work out a bit. With so many tests and travels, we havent been able to work on the physical part as much as we would have liked.
