Dani Pedrosa reveals some of the secrets of the circuits in which the 18 rounds of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship are going to be held. The season will take the championship to four continents, mainly in Europe (12 rounds), then Asia (4 rounds), Oceania and America (1 round).
Losail (Qatar): “I never felt so overwhelmed in a circuit like last year. The feeling of heat is really strong and it is essential to get used to it from the very first moment you arrive in that country. It makes you suffer during the race and since it is in the middle of the desert, there is a lot of dust on the track. It’s quite long, but as regards configuration it’s nothing to write home about.”
Jerez (Spain): “The Jerez circuit is very complete as regards configuration; the layout combines fast corners and strong braking sections. Therefore, the bike needs to be well balanced and the rubber suffers a lot, so the tyres are determining for the final result of the race. As regards the atmosphere, there’s a large motor biking tradition, the public bends over backwards with the riders and you feel the warmth of the people on the track.”
Istanbul (Turkey): “You notice that the designer and creator of the Istanbul circuit has also designed other circuits we visit, for example Shanghai, although I think that it is a much more compensated circuit. It combines uphill and downhill sections and has good asphalt. It’s quite wide and the grip it offers is not bad. It has some rather slow sections, but I guess it’s because it’s a circuit that has been designed thinking about Formula 1. In general terms however, it’s a circuit that is not bad at all.”
Shanghai (China): “Shanghai is a circuit with good asphalt. When we went there for the first time, I remember that the asphalt had good temperature, although I personally don’t like the circuit much. I believe the design is based on a coat of arms or something like that of Shanghai and it has very strange corners. Apart from that it is not balanced between straights, tight and large corners. There are some very long straights and a very tight corner. I guess that it has also basically been thought out for Formula 1 races, but I personally don’t like it at all.”
Le Mans (France): “Le Mans has a lot of accelerations, a lot of hard braking sections and a very fast, long corner at the end of the straight. Having a good acceleration at the exit of the corners is fundamental to make a good lap. The gearbox has to be very well set.”
Mugello (Italy): “Mugello is one of the most complicated circuits. It has a lot of variants, fast corners and drops. And there are the bumps on the asphalt making the set-up of the suspensions very difficult. The straight is the longest of the Championship and the speeds are really high. Slipstreams are basic in this race.“
Catalunya (Spain): “The Circuit de Catalunya has new asphalt and that has changed the performance of the tyres. In any case, Montmeló is a complete circuit, with good facilities and with a quite fast average speed, and it has a very difficult curvone.”
Donington Park (Great Britain): “Donington is a ‘stop and go’ circuit, linking strong braking sections with accelerations. Being so close to the airport is no benefit at all: it’s usually very slippery because the grip isn’t perfect. It has some very critical angles for the engine’s performance.“
Assen (Holland): “There must be a reason for calling it “The Cathedral”. It’s a very technical circuit were it is difficult to find references, because it’s so flat. The average speed is very high and that makes it a bit dangerous. It was one of the most beautiful layouts of the calendar, where the driver enjoyed racing because it’s really demanding. I didn’t like the changes we saw last year at all.”
Sachsenring (Germany): “The layout in Germany combines a first slow section with a faster one. It is also characterised by having large drops and the gearbox has to be very well set.”
Laguna Seca (USA): “It’s a very short, small circuit, where you have to work a lot, because you cover a lap very quickly and that makes your mind get tired really soon. The run-off areas are limited but I know that the organisers have been working a lot last year to improve safety.”
Brno (Czech Republic): “I consider it one of the most difficult circuits of the championship, where the riding technique is the most important. It has linked corners and if you don’t follow the right line, you loose valuable time in every lap; I’d say that there’s only one good line. It’s a very long circuit and it’s easy to get the slipstream on the straights.”
Misano (San Marino): “I haven’t raced there before and they have also changed the race sense of the new track so it will be a completely new track for all of us. I’ve seen some races on videos from the time of Doohan and Rainey, but I’m not sure whether it will be useful or not, due to the new changes.”
Estoril (Portugal): “The biggest influence in Estoril is the wind. There are always strong gusts of wind making it difficult to ride. The circuit is twisty and difficult. It has a very long straight where the group usually closes up. It’s not easy to escape here. The races are usually grouped.”
Motegi (Japan): “It’s one of the circuits were I feel more comfortable, I like it. The track is even and combines angles and braking. You can lap fast because the asphalt is in very good conditions. I feel very well in Motegi.“
Phillip Island (Australia): “It’s a track with very high average speed and the wind that is always blowing over the island adds difficulty to the riding. There are very fast corners where you have to be very careful, focussed to the utmost, especially if it’s cold. The layout is very nice, although, I insist, it’s a bit dangerous.“
Sepang (Malaysia): “Its facilities are exemplary and the circuit is very complete and long. The heat and humidity are decisive factors in the race, but you can stand it. The layout combines all types of sections and usually everybody likes it. Last year I had a heavy crash there during the practices, but then I did a good job during the race.”
Ricardo Tormo (Spain): “Cheste is a small circuit, but it’s good to set the bikes. It’s very flat and it’s very good for fans because they can follow the whole lap of a rider from almost every spot. Since it’s the last race of the Championship and in Spain, the atmosphere is also very good for us.”
