MotoGP: Nicky Hayden.
“I guess Ill remember my fist GP for all the wrong reasons; when this type of thing happens we all have to appreciate what we have now. I wish his family strength. Turning to the next GP, I´m really looking forward to going to another new circuit. I guess I got to know Suzuka quite well in the end what with all the pre-season testing there. Welkom will be like a lot of circuits this year; we´ll start riding a new track on Friday morning and will be racing there Sunday. I´ve never been to South Africa before and it will be all another learning experience to go to a new country and hopefully I´ll get up to speed fast! Ill just have to keep learning and chipping away!”
250:Fonsi Nieto:
I can´t find the words to express my feelings after what happened to Kato. It´s a big loss for the world of motorcycling and it´s something that will be very difficult to forget. Thinking about it makes me feel very sad. I´ve spent these Easter holidays trying to relax and working out in the gym. We know which way to follow after the race in Suzuka and I hope that things will be much better in Welkom. It´s a very slippery track with different kind of asphalt than the one we usually have on other racetracks of the championship. Last year I managed to finish third despite the problems I had at the beginning of the race with the full fuel tank. This year I´ll be happy if I manage to improve the result to get to Jerez in very high spirits.
250:Toni Elias:
We are very sad due to the loss of Kato. It´s been hard for all of us. We didn´t have a good Championship start and I´m looking forward to Welkom to improve the performance I had in Suzuka. We´ll start over again in this Grand Prix and I hope it will be much better. Last year I had some problems during practices and in the race, where I hoped to be able to make up some positions, but I took the start too early and got a “stop & go” penalty. I finally had to settle for the sixteenth position, but at least it helped me to get experience on my new bike. I´d like to get a good result this year to be in high spirits for Jerez.
125:Dani Pedrosa.
This is going to be a hard Grand Prix for all of us. Kato´s accident and his passing away are something you cannot easily forget. But we have to be professional and fulfil our duties, so we´ll have to keep concentrated in South Africa and try to give our best. In Japan we missed a place on the podium that could even have been a victory, but we have to stay calm and keep on working to achieve the results we expect. I made the pole last year and finished third; let´s see if we´re able to improve that result, even if only a little…
