Australian GP. Repsol driver´s comments

Nieto: ‘Despite Melandri not scoring in the Malaysian GP, getting the championship is still a difficult undertaking’.
Valentino Rossi: For sure I look forward to racing in Australia. I love the circuit and have some great memories from Phillip Island. We did test there before the season, but we tested at Sepang before the season but that didnt seem to give us any advantage! Weve had some problems with the bikes set-up over the last few races. The bike is moving a lot on the brakes; much more than at the beginning of the season. We need to look at what we have changed and maybe go back to some of the older settings. We sometimes get new parts but I am not so sure sometimes we are going in the right direction. The competition at the front is strong now. We need to improve for the last two races of the season.Tohru Ukawa: I like the circuit in Phillip Island and am looking forward to the race. At the moment I have a good feeling from the machine. The team worked really hard in Sepang and we managed to get good power, good drive from the engine and a good feeling from the suspension, which allowed the tyres to work well in difficult conditions. I nearly crashed several times in the race but that was because the battle was so fierce! Lets hope we can find the optimum set-up for Phillip Island so I can keep the pressure up for the rest of the season. Two races left and 50 points to fight for I am now only seven points behind Biaggi who is second in the championship. Second position is my target! Fonsi Nieto: Despite Melandri not scoring in the Malaysian Grand Prix and our remarkable improvement in the overall standings, getting the championship is still a difficult undertaking. I like very much both of the circuits we are going to visit: Australia and Valencia. Phillip Island is actually one of my favourite circuits because most of its corners are fast ones. On this track you are always riding to the limit, although it has also the inconvenient of being a bit bumpy and the lack of grip, so we will have to make a good job, especially with the suspensions set-up and the tyres. The engine will also be important for such a fast track. Toni Elias: After the victory in Motegi and the second place in Malaysia I feel very motivated. I will try to finish the season repeating these results. From the beginning of the season until now I have managed to achieve the objectives I had set to myself. I have a good feeling on this circuit, it is very fast and I have fun riding on it, but we will need a good set-up and good tyres if we want to be among the leading riders. Last year I made a beautiful race, starting from the back of the grid and finally finishing third. It was a hard race but it was worth it. Dani Pedrosa: I still dont want to think about the championship, now I only want to focus on the race in Phillip Island. After the heat in Malaysia, it will surely be cold in Australia and it even may rain, so we will probably have a difficult race. The Honda has improved considerably in the last races, although we are still having problems with the rear wheel sometimes. This is a very fast and a bit bumpy circuit, so we will have to be very careful with the set-up of the suspensions and the choice of tyres. Joan Olivé: There are still two races left, the last one in Spain and I would like to be again on the podium. I know it wont be easy, but at least I have to try. I like this circuit but the low temperatures and the usual cold weather this time of the year will possibly turn things more complicated.