Yesterday evening, Tuesday, it was finally confirmed that Dani Pedrosa would be able to ride in the GP Catalunya, a race that will be held this weekend just a few miles from his home. He was injured in the previous race, the Italian GP, but the Repsol Honda Team rider has had total rest in the last ten days, waiting to get clearance from doctors to race on his home ground. Yesterday evening Pedrosa visited Doctor Xavier Mir in the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus hospital, and it was he who in the end confirmed that he could ride in the GP Catalunya this weekend. Last year Pedrosa won at the track in Catalunya, but the Repsol Honda Team rider will still be bothered by the injury to his right hip, but racing at home always bring some extra motivation, and this is bound to help the rider get over his troubles.
On the other side of the pits is his teammate Andrea Dovizioso a rider that has managed to maintain a steadier progression, and now gradually catching up on the leading group. The Repsol rider is getting more and more used to the factory team and improving his results race by race, which if the round in Jerez is left out as he made a mistake that made him lose ground with the leaders, he has a haul of two 5th places and two 4th positions, and in the last two races fighting until the last lap to get on the podium.
In the smallest category the four Repsol riders are waiting expectantly for the second Spanish round in the calendar. This is the first race on home soil for Marc Márquez and Esteve Rabat, and they are both hoping to play a leading role this weekend. The former, hoping for a performance that will confirm that he is one of the fastest in the category, and the latter, thinking about a weekend that could put him back with the leaders, because so far he has not stood out.
This will be a special round for Scott Redding, who will be competing a few kilometres away from the team`s headquarters, and so knows how important this race is for all the members of the team. He himself put in a great race here last year and he got to the front of the leading group, and now with another year`s experience the British Repsol rider will be one of the main contenders for the victory. Cameron Beaubier has now recovered from the injury he had on his left arm and will race this weeekend on a track he has already practised on.
Dani Pedrosa
“I’m really looking forward to my home Grand Prix even though the build-up has hardly been perfect. For the past week I’ve just been resting and that’s pretty boring. But yesterday I went to see the doctor and the results of the new scan have been quite positive. They decided to give me a trial pain-killing injection so that I can judge how it will feel ahead of the weekend. And yesterday’s scan really helped them pinpoint the best location for the injection so it can have the maximum effect, which was something they weren’t able to do in Mugello. The feeling was good, so it looks like I’ll have an injection before riding each day. Obviously it’s still not going to be comfortable riding the bike but I’m feeling positive that we can go into the weekend and aim for the best possible result. In spite of the problems, my motivation for my home race i s still the same. I’ve been waiting for this race for a long time and I want to get the best possible result for all the fans who will be there to support me. I hope I can give them a good weekend.”
Andrea Dovizioso
“Montmelo is one of my favourite circuits of the year. I love this track because of the long, fast corners and it’s a great feeling when you find the right flow from one turn to the next. There is also a fantastic atmosphere at this track, and when you enter the final four corners it feels like a stadium and the sensation is incredible. So I always look forward to this race and my previous results here have been good, including last year when I had a great race and finished fourth. After leading the last race at Mugello and finishing so close to the winner I’m feeling really motivated and I think the team can have a good result this weekend. It’s true that the conditions were unusual – first wet and then dry – but my feeling with the bike has improved so I think we will be stronger at Barcelona.”
Marc Márquez
“I like the Circuito de Cataluña a lot, and we will try to put in a good performance there, although our main objective is always to finish the race, because with too much enthusiasm you want to do things too well and you fall. We want to find a really good set up because even though we have some ideas from the practice we did in the pre-season, I am sure that thigs will have changed, because it is not the same time of year, the temperature too, and that always affects things. We will see if we can do some good work, both myself as well as the team, and get a good result.”
Esteve Rabat
“We have not had too good a start to the season, and we hope that in this race, with the help of all the fans, racing at home, this can be a turning point. Both the bike and the team have the potential to be up with the leaders, and I hope that the rider too, so we will have to work very hard if we are to fight with the fastest, which is where I want to be. The Circuito de Cataluña is very varied, with fast corners, strong braking, slow corners, acceleration, and it is very important to keep your concentration at all times. I think that the race will be with us bunched up, so we will have to find a good set up to be in it and keep up with them.”
Scott Redding
“This is a good circuit, I like it, and I have ridden there many times. Last season is when I took a big step forward, I was 6th and in the following race at Donington I won, so it brings back some good memories. I hope the weather will be allright because it is much better for the races, to do some good work on the set up, because we have had enough rain for this season. It is the home race for the team, so it will be something special. I should do well there and I so can`t wait for the race to start. The track is one of the most varied around, with fast corners, slow corners, short ones, straights, slopes up and down, all sorts of corners that make make a circuit very attractive.”
Cameron Beaubier
“I feel much better. I have been going to rehabilitation and the doctors told me I could ride this weekend. The Circuito de Cataluña is one of those I know. I was there last year in the Spanish Championship – CEV – although it rained; and I practised with the MotoGP Academy there; and this year in March, I had a couple of days practice with the team, so unlike other races I will not have to memorise the layout. This is a very nice circuit, I like it, although it is a difficult one and physically demanding. It will be important to have a bike that handles the corners well and then come out at speed. It has been a good start to the season, I think we have put in some very decent races, and I am pleased but the fall at Le Mans was quite a big disappointment. I have now recovered and I can`t wait to carry on learning and and becoming a better rider.”
