This weekend the World MotoGP Championship will be in Japan as the riders begin the run in to the end of the 2008 season, at the moment there are four races left. After the race in Japan the MotoGP teams and riders will have to travel as fast as possible to Australia for another race just seven days later. After a week`s break the action returns with the Malaysian GP at the circuit of Sepang. And then one week later the season comes to an end in Valencia, Spain.
Motegi is without a doubt a very important date in the calendar for the Repsol Honda Team, as the the team with the most titles in recent times races “at home”, the circuit belongs to Honda. Dani Pedrosa, after his move to Bridgestone, hopes to be able to take advantage of all his new tyre potential this weekend in Japan, because the bad weather conditions along with a new bike and rubbers in Indianapolis meant that he could not get a good result.
After finishing second in Indianapolis Nicky Hayden hopes to continue his good run in the last few races of the season and so leave the Repsol Honda Team on a high note. Hayden put in a great performance in front of his compatriots at Indianapolis. But in spite of still recovering from the injury that he picked up in August, on his right heel to be exact, the Repsol Honda Team rider got a good result in the heavy rain and strong winds.
The cancellation of the 250cc race meant that Julián Simón never got a chance to race at Indianapolis, and so Simón will go to Motegi eager to get back to work and compete. Motegi is not really a circuit that favours the KTM bikes, since it is a track where strong acceleration is needed and that is not the strongpoint of the Austrian bikes. In spite of this though, the season is coming to an end and Simón wants to visit the podium at some point.
In 125cc, a new challenge for Marc Márquez, who will have to learn quickly if he wants to have a chance of getting a good result, like he got in Indianapolis a few days ago. Esteve Rabat, hit by another rider at the start of the race in America, also goes to Tokyo eager to have a good weekend.
Dani Pedrosa
“Indianapolis was an important weekend for us, with lots of work and with all kinds of different weather. That made it quite tough, but it did give us experience in different conditions, so we could learn about my new machine and tyres in both dry and wet conditions. I hope that we can use the data we gathered there to help us achieve a good result at Honda’s home race. I am feeling quite confident for the Japanese round. Motegi is one of those tracks that I like because the surface has good grip and not so many bumps. It is important to have good braking power and good acceleration from your machine, which means that the tyres are very important because you need to be able to brake late into the corners and accelerate strongly out of the corners. My favourite section of the track is the middle bit, climbing the hill towards the highest point. To achieve a fast lap you need to get your braking points absolutely correct, and the final section is probably most important for a good lap time. It’s the kind of circuit where you need to use an aggressive riding style. The atmosphere in the paddock is very different – the Japanese get very excited about getting autographs!”
Nicky Hayden
“Indy gave us a little bit of a boost, so we’ll see if we can keep that going at Motegi. I’m looking forward to it because I’m planning on finishing the season strong. I owe that to Honda, they’ve been a big part of my career, so it would be nice to get some more podiums. This will be my last race on a Honda at their home track, so it would be really nice to get a result for all the Honda people who have worked with me. First time I went to Motegi as a rookie in 2003 I battled with Sete [Gibernau], Valentino [Rossi] and Makoto [Tamada] and they ended up giving me third, my first top-three result. I thought ‘wow, this is going to be a good track for me’. But since then I really haven’t done much there. I’ve struggled in some of the hairpin corners. It’s an okay track, I like the combination in the back when you come under the first bridge, that all flows together really nice. I like those tunnels, because they’re different, it almost feels like you need headlights! Braking stability is probably the biggest thing, plus acceleration. You need a bike that’s good going back through the gears, so you need a good clutch and engine braking set-up.”
Julián Simón
“The circuit of Motegi is very special for me since I had a podium finish there in 2006, and so I have good memories of the place. Last year, in the rain, I was 6th which was quite good and in the practice I was up with the leaders. This is a track that I like a lot with quite a few corners that suit my style, and sections on the circuit where I always go fast. That is why this year, on a motorbike that I believe can be improved there, I am convinced that we can have a good race. We are going to work hard, and I hope that the Japanese GP continues to be something special for us.”
Esteve Rabat
“I have a desire to make up for things after the last race, since it is very frustrating to be working the whole weekend, travel to such an impressive place like Indianapolis, and at the moment of truth get knocked over just like that. Now I am thinking of the work ahead of us in Japan, where we will find a circuit that is especially difficult for the KTM. It will be very complicated because it is very important to be able to accelerate well there and with the bike we have, that is where we are having the most difficulties. But I am looking forward to it and doing things well, because I think that if we work as well as we know how to, we can get a good result which is exactly what we are after. Ther are only four races left and I am going to give my all in each of them.”
Marc Márquez
“At the end of the race in the USA I was very happy since 6th position was a very good result. But it is also true that I would have liked to have finished the race as we normally do, without the interruption due to the rain, since I believe I could have finished two places higher up. Looking forward to Japan, I am very motivated because I have had a good run of races and I have to carry on demonstrating that I can be up there with the best. Apparently the circuit of Motegi requires a lot of acceleration, which is what we are most lacking. But we will work to get a good cornering and so be able to leave the corner with a good speed and take advantage of the slipstreams. As always I know we will have to start calmly, take advanatage of the first session to learn all about the circuit, and then gradually go faster and faster and set good times.”
