The most contended World Championship arrives this weekend in Catalonia.
Dani Pedrosa arrives in Barcelona fourth in the overall standings and ready to shine in front of his fans. Team mate Nicky Hayden will be looking for his first victory this year, trying to strengthen his leadership in the overall standings.
The Motorcycling World Championship which will be remembered as the championship with the most even and thrilling season start of the latest years will travel this weekend to Catalonia to stage round seven of the 2006 season. The Repsol Honda Team arrives as one of the teams that has been playing the main role this season so far, having their both riders among the top four of the MotoGP World Championship and leading the teams’ classification. Nicky Hayden is second overall, level on points with the leader Loris Capirossi, and young Dani Pedrosa is fourth, thirteen points behind the two leaders. In the teams’ standings, the Repsol Honda Team has an advantage of 42 points over the second qualified team, the Ducati Marlboro Team.
Nicky Hayden, third at the Italian Grand Prix, is still looking for his first victory of the year but keeping the lead thanks to his regularity. After the last ten consecutive races staged between 2005 and 2006, the Repsol rider accounts for nine podium finishes, proving for his tremendous regularity.
Dani Pedrosa, who already knows what it means to win in MotoGP, will be racing at home this weekend and that will make him feel really wrapped up by his fans. The fact of having been to Barcelona for the preseason test sessions will be with no doubt of big help in order to face the preparations for the seventh Grand Prix of the 2006 season. Last year Nicky Hayden was fifth in MotoGP and Dani Pedrosa took the victory in the 250cc. In the 250cc and 125cc classes, two of the three Repsol riders will not have to face the situation they usually suffer weekend after weekend. Thanks to the 2006 preseason tests both Shuhei Aoyama and Bradley Smith won’t need to use the first day to learn the track and will be able to focus with their teams on the setup of their bikes.
For the Argentinean rider Sebastián Porto, who lives close to the track, this will be the most similar to a home Grand Prix. Despite the lack of results, both Porto and his team are looking for solutions to allow the Argentinean rider be back on his usual level of competitiveness. This weekend, in Barcelona, the thrill and evenness of one of the most contended championships of the latest times will continue and with a clear protagonism of the Repsol colours.
The venue of the GP:
Catalunya circuit
Located 20 kms north of Barcelona the Circuit de Catalunya opened in September 1991, thanks to the joint collaboration of the RACC and the Catalan Autonomous Government. Its first international event was held there only two weeks later and since 1995 it became a regular venue to the Catalan Grand Prix. The circuit offers three different layouts:
- the Grand Prix layout – 4,727 m in length
- the National layout and the School layout. The main straight of the Circuit de Catalunya is one of the longest of the championship. With its 1,047 m, it allows to fully display the engines’ power during the practice sessions and to use the slipstream for spectacular overtaking manoeuvres during the race. With a capacity of over 100,000 spectators, the Circuit de Catalunya has 15 long and fast corners, 8 right-hand and 5 left-hand.
- Given the balanced combination between corners and straights, this track is one of the most frequently used for off-season testing both in Formula 1 and Motorcycling. Former world champion, Alfonso ‘Sito’ Pons, still actively participating in the world of motorcycling, collaborated in the design of this circuit, considered to be one of the best of the recent era.
Official website: http://www.circuitcat.com
Rider´s comments:
Dani Pedrosa:
‘Catalunya GP is always special for me because I’m at home, all the crowd is looking forward to enjoying a good race and my family and friends will be there. I don’t really have more pressure being at home – I always want to get the best result I can – but it’s not a secret that a lot of people will come to the circuit for us and I would like to thank them for their support with a great race. When we were at this track for the MotoGP test, I could see that people were very excited then – and the race is always much more important. I think we are doing a good job with the team and Honda and we need to keep our concentration to continue this way. Some previous races this season have been difficult for me because I didn’t have information with the MotoGP bike. But we have good data from the MotoGP test in Catalunya, so I hope it can help us to prepare for the race’
Nicky Hayden:
‘I quite like the Catalunya circuit. It’s quite fast, it’s got some quick corners and I’ve gone ok there in the past so I’m looking forward to it. This weekend starts off three back-to-back races so we’re going to have to get it on because there’s a lot at stake. We know how important it is to start these three weeks off strongly. I’ve tested at Catalunya and raced there so I know the track well, and the Spanish crowds always get really into it too. We had a great test after the last race at Mugello so hopefully we can keep rolling. Plus it’s Repsol’s home, so it’s kind of like a home GP for the team. They’re a great sponsor so there’s definitely a lot of pride going there riding for Repsol Honda. Hopefully we can give them a good result.’
Shuhei Aoyama:
‘After several unfamiliar circuits, we will finally be this weekend in a track where we’ve already tested, and that will allow us to prepare the race in equal conditions with our rivals. The weather conditions now will probably be nothing similar to those we found in March but at least I won’t need to waste a single minute learning the circuit. This is an important moment in the championship because now we will have three races in a row. I hope to make good races and to fight again for the podium, as I already did in France.’
Sebastián Porto:
‘The tests we made in Barcelona during the preseason went quite good, so I hope for a good start this weekend in order to make a step forward to be again with the fastest riders of the class. Things didn’t work out well at the last race in Mugello and once again we finished far behind the winner. I hope to be able to make up for this situation in Barcelona, a circuit that feels like a home Grand Prix to me, because I live quite near.’
Bradley Smith:
‘The two test days in Barcelona in early March were very useful and we will feel that this weekend. As I’ve been doing all season I’ve also been training with the Playstation, but fortunately I already have my own experiences on this circuit. I’m still making some mistakes I’ve been doing since the start of the season which I must solve. The main thing is to qualify in better positions and make better starts, because I lack determination during the start and the first laps, and that makes me loose positions. We’re having three races in a row now and that’s perfect, because on Sunday, after the Grand Prix, you know that you’ll be back on the bike in four days time.’
