Favourable conditions for Repsol riders at the Gran Premi de Cataluña.
After hardly any rest, riders take up work again this weekend.
The Italian Grand Prix, held only a few days ago, gives way to the fifth round of the World Championship, the second on Spanish grounds. After the chaos and bad weather conditions at the Spanish Grand Prix staged in Jerez in May, the forecasts for this weekend are much more encouraging. Unlike the preseason IRTA test, where the rain hardly left the track, good weather conditions are expected to stay throughout the Grand Prix weekend. In the premier class and after a complicated start of the season, the Repsol Honda Team carried out tests in Le Mans that allowed them to face the Italian Grand Prix with a higher competitiveness.
In Mugello, both Nicky Hayden and Alex Barros did a good job with the bikes set-up, allowing them to take the start from good positions to fight for the victory. However, during the race, the crash of the North American rider after only a few laps and the excessive conservatism of the Brazilian during the second part of the race under wet conditions, hindered the excellent preparation and the work done so far from bearing fruit with a better result in the race. As already proven during the preseason IRTA test staged in Barcelona, Montmeló is a track the MotoGP Repsol riders are really good at. Practically recovered from his shoulder injury and having found a good base to work on, Alex Barros faces the Barcelona event with double motivation. On the one side, Barcelona is almost like being at home for him, because its his second place of residence and on the other, he is looking forward to giving a deserved reason of joy to the Repsol Honda Team for all the work done so far. Fourth in the overall standings, the Brazilian rider started the 2003 Gran Premi de Catalunya from the third place but finally took the chequered flag in eighth position. His teammate, North American rider Nicky Hayden, was very disappointed after his crash in Mugello. The young rider had done an excellent job during the weekend, which was reflected on the second fastest qualifying time and the corresponding position on the grid. But the happiness turned to disappointment when he crashed after only seven laps. Hayden, who is seventh in the overall standings, is looking forward to getting back on the bike to show that both his RC211V and himself have a high competitive level. Last year, Hayden started from the eighteenth place of the grid and finished the race ninth, right behind his current teammate Alex Barros.
Rubén Xaus, third Repsol rider in the MotoGP class, keeps on showing his excellent adaptation to the category and is already thirteenth in the overall standings, ahead of more experienced riders, and leading the standings for the Rookie of the year title. After a brave performance last weekend in Italy, where he even managed to lead the race for some time and finally finished fifth, he is eager to make an impeccable race and get a good result in his home Grand Prix. Unlike the circuits where he has been racing so far, Rubén knows the Montmeló layout perfectly well, and therefore he will be able to perform his best from the first moment on, instead of loosing the first day learning the track by heart.
In the 250 GP, the Argentinean Sebastián Porto arrives in high spirits after his victory in Italy last week, where he finally was able to get even after the struggle for victory since the start of the season. Until then, is seems that the elements were against him; the off-track in South Africa, the rain in Jerez and the crash in La Mans hindered him from a victory that had always been at his reach. But the victory finally arrived after a hard working weekend in Mugello there was no better place for it than in Aprilias home track and despite the pain after the crash during the Friday practice. Porto, who seems to have found a good working base, arrives in Barcelona third in the overall standings, motivated and mentally very well prepared, although without having had much time to recover completely from the multiple bruises suffered in Italy. Fonsi Nieto, second last year in Barcelona, hopes to take a good result on a circuit he likes especially well. Fourth in the overall standings, the rider from Madrid doesnt feel comfortable on his bike yet, but thanks to the job done in Italy and the fact of racing at home with the support of the fans, he feels ready to face the Gran Premi de Catalunya and give it all to get back on the rostrum. In the minor class, Pablo Nieto, who saw how the victory slipped off his hands after a brilliant race, will try to make up for the disappointment he had last year in Catalonia.
Chiquitín started from the pole and everything looked like a victory. But two laps before the end of the race, while being third, he crashed and, although he was able to rejoin the race, he did it in a backwards position. He finally crossed the finish line in seventeenth place. This weekend he is back in Montmeló, a circuit he knows perfectly well and where he will be giving his best to reward the fans who have never stopped supporting him. His teammate, Sergio Gadea, already took part in this Grand Prix last year as a wild card rider and finished in a meritorious twenty-third position. The young rider from Valencia who suffered his first race crash of this season in Italy, will fight to improve his lap times on the Catalan track, a circuit that, unlike Welkom, Le Mans and Mugello, he already knows.
