2006 MotoGP - JAPANESE GP

R15, SEP 24, 2006 - MOTEGI, JAPAN

• LAST YEAR'S (2005) RACE RESULT
• 1 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati
  2 Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda
  3 Makoto Tamada (JAP) Honda
• V ROSSI, BEFORE 2006 RACE: "Three races in a row like this is very hard, especially with this one as the third! We need to make the most of the practice time there because it is not a great track for us. Last year especially it was not a good weekend; we had a lot of problems during the practices and then the race result was very bad! A gap of 21 points is still a lot but it's not impossible so we can still try. Motegi is going to be a very important race for us, firstly because we know it's going to be difficult and secondly because we have to try to get more points from Hayden in order to stay in the fight. My M1 has been pretty good recently and I think we're going there in good shape, so hopefully we can make the most of the weekend and go back to Europe with an even better shot at the title."

HAYDEN RE-SIGNED TO HONDA FOR 2 MORE YEARS

• Nicky Hayden: “It’s an honour to be with the HRC factory team for another two years in MotoGP, it doesn’t get a lot better than that , so I’m really excited and really happy. Everything came together and I’m happy with the deal and I’m happy with HRC. I feel like I took a big step forward this year and I feel that I’m still climbing up the learning curve so I don’t want change anything. I want to keep learning, continue growing and keep this momentum going into next year. I’m really happy with the team around me, we’re all clicking and working well together. I’ve been a Honda guy for quite a few years and they’re the ones who brought me over to MotoGP, and now I just want to repay them with the championship.”
• Tsutomu Ishii, HRC General Manager : “Honda and HRC are very pleased that Nicky will remain with the Repsol Honda Team for two more years. Nicky has been with us for four seasons and during that time he has evolved and continually improved. His results this year have been excellent and he has led the world championship for much of the season. The feeling within the team is very strong at the moment and this season Nicky and Dani Pedrosa have established a positive relationship. As MotoGP enters the new 800cc era it is important for the Repsol Honda Team to enjoy this stability, not only with the rider line-up but also with our sponsors and partners.”

RACE   (TOP OF PAGE)

RACE, SEP 24, 2006
1 LORIS Capirossi , DUCATI 2 VALENTINO Rossi , YAMAHA +5.08 3 MARCO Melandri , HONDA 4. Sete Gibernau (Spa) Ducati 5. Nicky Hayden (US) Honda 6. Toni Elias (Spa) Honda 7. Dani Pedrosa (Spa) Honda 8. Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha 9. Kenny Roberts Jr. (US) KR211V 10. Makoto Tamada (Jap) Honda 11. Chris Vermeulen (Aus) Suzuki 12. John Hopkins (US) Suzuki 13. Kousuke Akiyoshi (Jap) Suzuki 14. Carlos Checa (Spa) Yamaha 15. James Ellison (GB) Yamaha
RACE, SEP 24	RACE, SEP 24
H Aoyama De Angelis Lorenzo Dovizioso Locatelli S Aoyama Barbera Yokoe Simoncelli Wilairot	Kallio Bautista Simon Pasini Pesek Faubel Koyama Smith Talmacsi Terol

RACE REPORT - DUCATI   (TOP OF PAGE) CAPIROSSI 1ST, GIBERNAU 4TH

• Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi scored a majestic victory at sun-blessed Motegi this afternoon, beating his 2005 race-winning time by a massive 17 seconds to record his second consecutive Japanese Grand Prix success. Team-mate Sete Gibernau had a fine ride to fourth, just 1.3 seconds away from scoring his first podium for the team.
• Capirossi was in breathtaking form, starting from pole position and leading from the first lap to the chequered flag, gradually building an advantage over his closest rivals Marco Melandri and Valentino Rossi. And when Rossi moved past Melandri into second and tried to make a run on the leader, Capirossi responded in devastating fashion, recording a 1m 47.5s lap with just five laps remaining to put the matter beyond doubt! He crossed the line a full five seconds ahead of Rossi to move into fourth place in the championship, 31 points down on the series leader with two races to go.
• Gibernau rode hard to defend fourth place during the final laps, Shinya Nakano crashing out when he was just a few centimetres behind the Spaniard three corners from the flag.
• Capirossi's impressive win was applauded by 600 local Ducati fans in the Ducati grandstand at Motegi; Japan is one of Ducati's most important national markets. Both Capirossi and Gibernau stay at Motegi tomorrow for an important test of the factory's new 800cc GP7 which the team will race in 2007.
• Loris Capirossi, Ducati Marlboro Team, winner, 4th overall, 205 points "I think that was a pretty amazing race. It all started on Friday when my team immediately found a good setting and Bridgestone came here with many good new tyres. I was able to find a good rhythm in practice and we were very fast in warm-up, so our target was to get a great start and just go. I got the start, but Marco tried to overtake me on the first lap. I said to myself it's better he doesn't come past because I didn't know if his pace was as fast as mine. After six or seven laps I started to take a small advantage, then after half-distance my pitboard told me Valentino was coming. At that moment I was going a little bit slow and when I saw Valentino coming very quick I had to go faster again. My pace was very good, 47s all race. This victory is very important to us and I don't think the championship will be over until the last race. To win here in Japan is a fantastic thing for us to do, and also for Bridgestone. My thanks to all my team and to all our sponsors."
• Sete Gibernau, Ducati Marlboro Team, finished 4th, 10th overall, 95 points "That wasn't so bad but I can't be happy. We missed the race because I was too slow at the beginning. I didn't get a grip of the bike until past half-race distance and that was my mistake. I didn't even feel anything from Nakano. Actually after that right-hander I looked back to see if he was going to try and attack into the next fast left but he wasn't there, so I flicked it into the turn and then I looked back on the start-finish and he wasn't there. I just feel sorry for him and I'm glad he doesn't seem to be badly hurt. Now we've got two races left, so two more goes at the podium this year, we just need to keep our heads down from the first lap to the last."
• Livio Suppo, Ducati MotoGP project manager "It is a really great feeling to win for the second year running in Japan. The team did a great job once again this weekend, Bridgestone worked so well too, so our thanks to them and to Shell Advance for their vital technical support. However, it was Loris who was unbelievable today, truly unbelievable! Sete rode a good race but he lost too much time during the first few laps".

RACE REPORT - YAMAHA   (TOP OF PAGE) ROSSI 2ND, EDWARDS 8TH

• Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi now trails MotoGP World Championship series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) by just twelve points with two rounds remaining thanks to his fourth consecutive podium, his eighth from the last ten races, in Japan today. Rossi took second place in a race dominated and won by Loris Capirossi (Ducati), with Marco Melandri (Honda) completing the podium in a carbon copy of the front row order. The 20-point reward for Rossi moved him another nine closer to Hayden, who finished fifth behind Sete Gibernau (Ducati).
• Colin Edwards had shown promise of mounting a podium challenge himself this weekend but unfortunately his excellent practice pace on race rubber did not translate into the top result he was hoping for. Despite making a good start from tenth on the grid the American was forced wide by another rider into turn one and lost several positions, dropping back to twelfth. However a determined ride from that point onwards saw him battle back to eighth place , a position he also now holds in the championship after moving above John Hopkins (Suzuki).
• VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd; +5.088) “I’m really happy with this second position today. It wasn’t a great battle like in Sepang, but my rhythm was really good and my bike worked very well. We had a few problems in warm-up this morning and, like always, my mechanics, the Yamaha engineers and Michelin did a great job to make some last-minute changes to our race set-up. At the start my M1 was a little bit hard to ride but slowly I found my rhythm and then bit by bit I started to come closer to Marco. Once I passed him I started pushing to try to reach Loris and made the fastest lap, but once he realised I was coming closer he opened the throttle again and he was just too fast for me to catch. My bike worked brilliantly since Friday morning and I want to thank everyone for all their hard work, it seems that when everything is working for us then it’s hard for the others! 20 points is a great result for me at this track, which isn’t one of my favourites, and now we’re only 12 points behind in the championship. We have two races left and if we can continue in this way then it’s possible!”
• COLIN EDWARDS (8th; +22.492) “I got off the line pretty well but then (Dani) Pedrosa pushed me out a bit on the exit of turn one and I had to chop it. I lost speed and then about three people went by me so I was playing catch-up from then on. I had to spend some time getting past (Makoto) Tamada and (Randy) De Puniet but then I got my head down and just kept going in the same rhythm. I was doing good lap times, consistent with what we were doing all weekend, but it wasn’t enough to make up for our grid position and the problems in turn one. About 15 laps in I hit a bit of a wall, couldn’t hold the load on the rear tyre and started losing corner speed, so life was more difficult from then on. Of course I’m really disappointed; we had a plan but it was messed up by our starting position and turn one. On the bright side we were able to run the same good pace we ran all weekend for most of the race, but it seems a few others, my team-mate included, found a bit extra today and what we had just wasn’t enough!”
• DAVIDE BRIVIO, CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “Today was a very important race for us because we have been able to reduce the gap by another nine points, which keeps us on target. Our goal today was to finish on the podium and we did that so we are happy, even though Loris had a pace that Valentino wasn’t quite able to follow. Unfortunately Colin couldn’t quite live up to the high hopes he had raised before the race so we will investigate the reasons for that. We still have two races left and we want to help get him back to the front of the pack. The last three weeks have required a lot of energy, effort and concentration from the whole team and I am delighted the way every one of them has responded. Now we need them to keep it going for two more races and hopefully we will continue to get our rewards.”

RACE REPORT - HONDA   (TOP OF PAGE) MELANDRI 3RD, HAYDEN 5TH, ELIAS 6TH, PEDROSA 7TH

• Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 3rd: “It’s nice to be on the podium at Honda’s home race and I’m happy to have given them the Constructors' title.
  Today the pace set by Loris was extremely fast but the balance of my bike was also good and the tyres worked really well. After a tough warm-up, when we struggled a little to get the right feeling with a harder rear tyre, I went for slightly softer rubber for the race. At the start I felt I had the pace to lead the race because the feeling with the bike and tyres was perfect. Then when the tyres started to go off I first took some risks to maintain my position but then I decided not to take any further risks and to bring it home in third place. I’m enjoying myself at the moment and now we’re going to two tracks I like. I just have to focus on having fun and giving it my best shot every Sunday”
• Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 5th: “Well that’s another 5th place which isn’t great obviously. Lap one was pretty wild and luckily in the first couple of corners I made up a lot of positions because my start was a bit of a disaster , that was the worst part of the race for me. Luckily that first lap turned out as good as it did because otherwise the result could have been much worse. I actually got hit by another rider on the first lap and bent the clutch lever up which didn’t help. I tried to come through the pack but it’s hard , you’re coming past fast guys and in this class it’s really tough. Towards the end I started closing, closing, closing on Nakano and Gibernau and then I made a little mistake in Turn 5 and they picked up the pace too. Actually my bike worked pretty good today, and the Michelins did too. My rhythm wasn’t bad - I was much faster than I was able to go here last year , and I guess that’s one positive thing to come out of today. And luckily we’ve got a couple of days here to test to see if we can sort it out.”
• Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 6th: “I’m happy with sixth place, even though I was hoping for better. I started well and tried to go with the leading group but it wasn’t possible because they had a pace that was a couple of tenths quicker than I was capable of. I got involved in the second group with Gibernau, Hayden and Nakano, focused on my rhythm and pushed as hard as I could, even though I was missing a little rear traction. Now I am looking forward to Portugal because we have taken another step forward here.”
• Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 7th.: “My race was didn’t go well at the beginning. In the first left hander Elias made a mistake, I was just behind and I couldn’t avoid him so I went off the track. Everybody passed me and I was near the back of the field which made it really difficult and I was making mistakes trying to pass people. After that the leading group had gained a big lead, and anyway I was not as fast as them today. But I tried to recover as much as possible and I finished seventh, which is not such a good result for me this season. My race pace was quite good but the problem was that we didn’t manage to get this pace early in the practice sessions this weekend. I’m happy to have won the Rookie of the Year though because I got it in the 125cc and 250cc classes, so it’s nice to get it also in MotoGP.”
• Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 9th: Felt great this morning. Seems like when I get out on my own and get in my own rhythm and I don’t have to slam the brakes on or really accelerate hard, I’m OK. But when I’ve got to start doing that I start getting sucked in and it feels like I’m going to run in the back of people. And when I get on the gas at the same time I just spin, so it’s like I keep a certain distance and then I’m OK. It’s like I’m riding just too much corner speed. And we’ve been trying to fix that. That was obviously one of the things we were trying to get rear grip out of it so I can avoid doing that.
• Team Owner Kenny Roberts: It just wasn’t there all weekend. This is the new chassis. Again, we have very little time, very little experience with it. It could very well be two, three-tenths off; we don’t know that. In the morning warm-up it was fine and then the race gets hotter. These are just things you learn. Everybody’s so damn close. It doesn’t take much to tune yourself out of a half a second a lap. We’ve always had a stopping problem and that’s really an area where we want to work that’s largely a suspension and maybe a little bit of aerodynamic work to make it stop better. It’s always stopping on its nose and moving; you can’t really out-stop anybody.
  That’s a problem we’ve had since we started the project.
• Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 10th: “I am really sorry for my home race result. I was competitive at the start only; I made up some positions during the first lap. The feeling with my bike was better than yesterday but not sufficient to turn with the necessary pace to stay with the leading group. It is very sad for me to race like this but the worst thing is that I have not found the way to overcome this situation yet.”
• Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: dnf , crash: “For two laps from the start the bike felt OK, and I was up to fourth place after passing Gibernau. Unfortunately in the morning warm-up the team decided to put an extra turn of preload on the front and it was fine with full load of fuel. But as the fuel went down I had no feeling on the front, and the rear was lifting under brakes and I was running wide. I’m disappointed, because since free practice 3, we had the perfect set-up and we didn’t need to change anything. I wasn’t happy with the race, I should have been able to run low 1’47s, and I really have no explanation for the crash, I don’t know what I did wrong.”

QUALIFYING   (TOP OF PAGE)

GRID, SEP 23, 2006
LORIS Capirossi , DUCATI, 1m 45.724s VALENTINO Rossi , YAMAHA MARCO Melandri , HONDA Nakano Gibernau Elias Hayden De Puniet Pedrosa Edwards Stoner Akiyoshi Hopkins Roberts Vermeulen Matsudo Checa Tamada Ellison Hofmann Cardoso
GRID, SEP 23	GRID, SEP 23
Lorenzo 1m 51.37 Dovizioso De Angelis H Aoyama S Aoyama Takahashi	Bautista 1m 57.23 Kallio Faubel Simon Gadea Pesek

QUALIFYING REPORT - DUCATI   (TOP OF PAGE) CAPIROSSI 1ST, GIBERNAU 5TH

• Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi scored his second pole position of the year at Motegi today while team-mate Sete Gibernau improved to a close fifth fastest for a second-row start. The pair set an impressive pace on race tyres and were running first and second until the final moments of this afternoon's qualifying session.
• Pole sitter and winner here last year, Capirossi was at his aggressive best on qualifying tyres as he rode the fastest-ever lap of Motegi, bettering his 2005 pole time by 0.639 seconds. This is the Ducati Marlboro Team's first pole since Gibernau topped qualifying at June's Italian GP and Capirossi's first pole since he was quickest at Jerez in March.
• Gibernau meanwhile made excellent progress at a track which has always proved a challenge for the Spaniard. His crew changed his set-up today and he was able to dramatically improve his pace.
• Loris Capirossi, Ducati Marlboro Team, pole position, 1m 45.724s "My best lap was amazing, seven tenths faster than last year's pole, incredible! I did my best but a big part of this is down to my crew, they've done a great job today and all weekend. Step by step we have worked towards a fast, consistent pace on race tyres. Me and my crew have worked together for four years and there is so much respect and friendliness in our relationship. Even when things aren't going so well they still manage a smile and that's important. We really deserved today's pole. As always, tomorrow is another day. We'll see what happens with the weather. I know I can also be fast if it rains but as usual I would prefer a dry race."
• Sete Gibernau, Ducati Marlboro Team, 5th fastest, 1m 46.316s "We wanted the first or second rows, so we made it. Today was very good, the guys did a great job, we went though a lot of stuff, step by step. We combined the best aspects of the two set-ups we ran yesterday and changed the geometry so the bike was much more natural and better balanced on the brakes, so I could load the front without unloading the rear too much. First time out this afternoon I was quite fast with race tyres, I was putting in some good times, I was pleased with that. But I didn't get the best out of the qualifier, I rushed it a little too much, I wanted to do too much, so didn't use its full potential. This is a place I don't really like, so I think we have done a lot of good work and now we are just trying to decide whether to use the big tyre or the other tyre for the race. Both tyres are good but grip is better with the big tyre, maybe consistency too, while the bike is more manoeuvrable with the other tyre. We'll try both again in warm-up and see which is better. We also want to improve the front a little during straight-up braking, but overall we are feeling good."

QUALIFYING REPORT - YAMAHA   (TOP OF PAGE) ROSSI 2ND, EDWARDS 10TH

• Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi delighted his legion of local fans with a sensational final lap in qualifying practice for the Grand Prix of Japan this afternoon. Rossi continued his excellent progress with another day of hard work on the race setting of his YZR-M1 before heading out to challenge Loris Capirossi (Ducati) for pole. Unfortunately Rossi’s first attempt on qualifying tyres was baulked when a rider crashed in front him, forcing the Italian to make a last-minute pit-stop. It made for a tense finale as Rossi returned to the track and beat the chequered flag by just ten seconds, giving him one last chance to challenge Capirossi’s dominance. The World Champion responded in typical style with a lap of 1’45.991 - inside last year’s pole record but not quite enough to topple pole man Capirossi, meaning he will start tomorrow’s race from second place.
• Colin Edwards worked in tandem with Rossi throughout the day to improve the solid base setting the pair had found in yesterday’s opening free practice sessions. The Texan was again one of the leading riders on race rubber, lapping consistently in the low 1’48 mark and even dipping under the lap record of 1’47.968. However, the Texan struggled to improve on that pace significantly after fitting a qualifying tyre and he slid down the time sheets in the closing stages, ending the session in tenth place and setting himself a tough challenge tomorrow from the fourth row of the grid.
• VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd , 1’45.991; 26 laps) “For sure I am very happy to be on the front row again for the fourth race in a row. My M1 has worked well from the start here so we’ve been able to work on the setting with various different things and then mix everything together to find the very best race set-up. Now it seems we’re in good shape. The bike worked very well also with the qualifying tyre and I had very good grip. Unfortunately I lost one qualifying tyre when Hopkins crashed in front of me, but luckily my team did a great job with the pit-stop , it was even faster than a Formula 1 team! Fortunately I made a good lap with the final tyre and now we’re starting from second. I am happy; tomorrow will be a difficult race but I am quite confident.”
• COLIN EDWARDS (10th , 1’46.726; 26 laps) “I’ve been happier with my qualifying position but I’ve got a good race pace so it’s not all doom! To be honest, even though on paper it doesn’t look too great, I’m really happy with the bike right now. It’s working really well, it’s just we couldn’t quite get it together with the qualifying tyre and when we put it in today it just overloaded the suspension a bit and made everything a bit too soft, so that’s something we need to think about for the next time. Race-wise our setting is pretty good and I think I’ve got one of the best rhythms out there. Obviously it’s annoying to be starting from the fourth row but I think I can come through the pack pretty quickly and then just get my head down! I need to get a good start, fight my way past a few people and then just keep pushing. I’m actually pretty excited about tomorrow and I’m looking for a good result.”
• DAVIDE BRIVIO , CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “It’s been another very good day for Valentino, it seems things are working well and it’s nice to be consistently on the front row. It’s good to be starting tomorrow’s race, which is so important for us with regards to the championship, from this position. It looks like he’s in good shape for the race and hopefully he can make the most of the start to get away in front. Unfortunately Colin wasn’t able to qualifying in such a high position but he actually has a very strong race pace so the situation is not too bad. If he can get a good start then I think he will be able to come through the field quite quickly and once he’s up front he should be able to stay there. Now we hope that the weather stays dry and that we can have a fun and exciting race!

FRI PRAC, SEP 22, 2006

1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'46.981 2 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'47.315 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'47.449 4 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'47.581 5 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'47.610 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'47.646 7 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'47.731 8 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'47.915 9 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'47.982 10 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'48.002 11 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'48.059 12 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'48.160 13 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'48.313 14 Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki JPN 1'48.317 15 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'48.389

FRIDAY REPORT - YAMAHA   (TOP OF PAGE) ROSSI 1ST, EDWARDS 4TH

• Camel Yamaha Team racers Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their preparations for the Grand Prix of Japan in ideal fashion today, lapping at the top end of the time sheets throughout both free practice sessions and ending the day with the first and fourth fastest laps overall. Both riders were able to work on their race setting, adapting the machine configuration from the fast and flowing demands of Phillip Island to the stop-start nature of Motegi, before fitting a softer compound rear tyre in a trial run ahead of tomorrow's crucial qualifying practice.
• Rossi was on the pace in both instances, running second fastest in the morning free practice and stepping up the tempo with a string of fast and consistent laps in the afternoon. His best time on a race tyre of 1'48.044 was just a fraction outside lap record pace and is a positive reflection of his potential in Sunday's race. Edwards, meanwhile, was delighted to follow up his positive progress in Australia with another impressive practice showing. The Texan topped the timing screens for lengthy spells in the afternoon as he also lapped in the low 1'48s before settling for the fourth fastest time overall as other riders also experimented with a qualifying tyre.
• Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'46.981; 44 laps) "I am very happy with today; we've made a really good start. The track has a good grip and also Michelin have made great progress since this race last year, especially with the front tyre. They have a new front tyre here which gives me much better grip when braking and so I was able to ride the bike at the maximum straight away today, which meant that I had great fun! My pace is okay, although there are many riders with a similar rhythm so I think it's going to be a hard battle on Sunday! My best time today was done with the qualifying tyre and once again my bike worked perfectly in this situation, so this is good news for tomorrow. Colin was fast too today, as he was last weekend, which shows what good work we've done on our M1 over the last few races. This race is very important for the championship so it's nice to start off on the right foot with this good result. Now we wait to see if we can continue in this way tomorrow."
• Colin Edwards (4th - 1'47.581; 41 laps)
  "We found something in Phillip Island which seems to have made all the difference; we pulled the bike out this morning and it felt good straight away. We've basically just softened up the setting and it's since felt like a completely different bike. Obviously Motegi is a very different track to Phillip Island but what we used today was pretty much the same bike with virtually the same setting - just a few modifications that we thought would help us here. The crew have done a great job and we've still got another day to work on improving the setting ahead of the race. We used a qualifying tyre today, which we don't usually do on a Friday, and I was really pleased with the lap time. Now we have to keep going, make sure we don't take a single step backwards and head into Sunday's race with confidence of a top result."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "For a start we are very happy to see Colin on top, more or less throughout the whole session today, so we have to keep going with him - improving his feeling with the bike and continuing to give him a good package to work with. Valentino has also made a good start and it is always an advantage when both riders feel comfortable from the first moment because they can push hard and give you lots of valuable data to work from. It means that we have a good setting now on both bikes so even if it rains tomorrow, as they say it might, we can be confident for Sunday. As far as using the qualifying tyre in free practice is concerned, we had actually already started to do this before Malaysia, to provide some information for the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. However, I don't think there is any doubt that it is in the back of teams' minds now to set a good lap time, just in case there is a similar situation with the weather to the one we had at Sepang."

FRIDAY REPORT - KAWASAKI   (TOP OF PAGE) NAKANO 2ND, DE PUNIET 9TH

• Shinya Nakano led the Kawasaki charge at Motegi today, storming to a sensational second place on the provisional grid during this afternoon's hour-long free practice session.
• A problem with braking stability, so critical at Motegi, meant that Nakano finished this morning a disappointing eleventh fastest, but changes to chassis and suspension settings transformed the 28-year-old Japanese rider's Ninja ZX-RR ahead of the second hour of practice.
• Nakano claimed provisional pole just five minutes into this afternoon's hour-long session, and remained top five on the timesheet until the leading riders started switching to qualifying tyres with ten minutes left to run.
• Having dropped down to sixth place, as his factory rivals put in fast laps on qualifying rubber, Nakano underlined just how much Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR has improved this season, by snatching second place on the provisional grid with a final flying lap that was almost half-a-second faster than his qualifying time for this race last year.
• And the Kawasaki pilot is confident that, with additional refinements to the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR overnight, he can improve his lap times further ahead of tomorrow's all-important qualifying session.
• Randy de Puniet finished the opening day of practice in a creditable ninth place, but like his more experienced team leader, the 25-year-old Frenchman is confident that there is more to come during tomorrow morning's final free practice session.
• De Puniet worked closely with his crew to refine the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR - fitted with the latest specification engine for the first time - during this morning's practice session, before switching his attentions to evaluating two different tyres from Bridgestone. With rain forecast for tomorrow, de Puniet, like many riders, opted to try a qualifying tyre at the end of this afternoon's session, and it was on this tyre that he set his fastest time.
• Also riding the latest specification Ninja ZX-RR for the first time was Kawasaki wild card rider, Naoki Matsudo. The 33-year-old Japanese rider made steady progress during both practice sessions, as he and his crew refined the set-up of the new engine, before switching to a qualifying tyre at the end of the afternoon, and recording the sixteenth fastest time.
• Shinya Nakano: 2nd - 1'47.315 "This morning we had some problems with braking stability, which made it very difficult to lap consistently. Between sessions we made some changes to the balance of the bike, which was a big improvement, and I was able to find a good rhythm very quickly this afternoon. Having said that, I think it's still possible to improve things further, as I could still feel the rear hopping about when hard on the brakes this afternoon - and you're hard on the brakes quite a lot at Motegi. Having the rear wheel trying to overtake the front on the brakes may look good on television, but it's not so good for a fast lap time. We know what we need to do to improve this, so I'm confident that we can go even faster tomorrow."
• Randy de Puniet: 9th - 1'47.982 "Overall, I'm happy with the progress we've made today. This is my first time at Motegi with the MotoGP bike, so I faced quite a steep learning curve this morning, but I think we're almost there now. I tested a couple of different rear tyres from Bridgestone, and one definitely seems to offer an advantage here, but I still need to do more work on the set-up of the bike. At the moment I'm just over a second off pole position, but as we get the bike dialled in tomorrow, I think I should be able to close this gap significantly in qualifying."
• Naoki Matsudo: 16th - 1'48.722 "This is the first time I've ridden the latest specification engine, so we knew we would have to spend some time this morning working on set-up. At first I wasn't too comfortable with the engine braking, and the bike had a tendency to wheelie out of the turns, but now the set-up is much better. This is my one and only MotoGP race appearance this season, so this morning I was a little bit nervous to start with. But, once I'd settled into the practice session, and we'd made improvements to the set-up, I really enjoyed myself, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow."

FRIDAY REPORT - HONDA   (TOP OF PAGE) MELANDRI 3RD, HAYDEN 5TH, PEDROSA 15TH

• FORTUNA HONDA
  The Fortuna Honda riders had a positive start at Motegi in the first day of the Japanese GP. With the third and sixth lap time, Marco Melandri and Toni Elias look confident to the race weekend. Marco Melandri, after the incredible race in Phillip Island, started with the set up that last Sunday allowed him to score his third win of the season. Marco worked on the set up of the bike, making only some small modifications. In the afternoon he tested the qualifying tyre in order to be ready for tomorrow qualifying session, finishing with the third best time. Very good start for the Spaniard Toni Elias who finished 6th. Thanks to the work done on the chassis and suspension, the bike was well balanced and Toni could ride with a good feeling.
• MARCO MELANDRI (3rd, 1’47”449): “I’m very satisfied of this first day of testing. Despite the track of Motegi presents different characteristics, we started here with the same setting we had last Sunday in Australia. The feeling with the bike was good and I think that we have found a good set up in the final part of the session. In the afternoon I tested a qualifying tyre because this has been so far my weak point. I scored the 3rd time. Honda is helping me to improve the performance of the bike and the team who is doing a great job.”
• TONI ELIAS (6th, 1’47”646): “I’m very happy because today the bike was well balanced and I could ride in the way i like. This morning we worked on chassis and suspensions and we found a good base. We still need to improve my feeling with full tank because I’m still struggling a lot in the first laps because I don’t have enough traction.”
• During the Grand Prix of Japan, Marco Melandri‘s Honda RC211V will carry the image of Honda Italia’s 35th anniversary as a sign of collaboration and mutual respect.
• MARCO MELANDRI: “It’s a great satisfaction for me to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Honda Italia. When I was a child and I went to races, I was always dreaming of becoming famous. Now I’m the only Italian to ride a Honda MotoGP and I’m proud to represent Honda Italy in this special occasion.”
• FAUSTO GRESINI: “It is a great honour for us to be able to celebrate this 35th anniversary with Honda Itaia “We are an Italian team and with 3 victories and 6 podiums this season we are delighted to carry the image of the anniversary.”
• Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa began practice today for the third Grand Prix in as many weekends. The Twin Ring Motegi circuit hosts Sunday’s Grand Prix of Japan and the Repsol Honda riders started the process of honing set-up and choosing race tyres for the team’s home race.
• REPSOL HONDA
• Hayden, who holds a 21-point lead in the riders’ world championship, ended the day fifth on the timesheets with a lap-time of 1m 47.610s. The 25-year-old American ace wasn’t entirely satisfied with this and pledged to work with his team to improve his pace and consistency ahead of tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions.
• Dani Pedrosa spent the day acclimatising to the demands of a MotoGP bike at Motegi’s stop-start layout. The Spaniard resisted the temptation to go for outright lap-times with a sticky tyre, and this was reflected in his finishing position of 15th. Still recovering from an injured right leg, Pedrosa’s pace looks certain to increase tomorrow at one of his favourite race tracks.
• As with last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the weather may again play a part in proceedings this weekend. Tomorrow’s qualifying session should remain dry but Typhoon 14, currently moving across the Pacific to the east of Japan, threatens to bring unstable conditions, with rain and strong winds a distinct possibility for Sunday’s 24-lap race.
• Nicky Hayden 5th , 1m 47.610s
  “I struggled a lot at this track last year and I’ve come out today and almost picked up where I left off unfortunately. It wasn’t really that great a day. My rhythm isn’t very good and my pace, consistently, is not as fast as I’d like, so we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight because this is such an important race. I’ve got a lot of fans rooting for me here and I went to visit the local US Air Force base on Wednesday and a lot of those guys are coming out to support me. So I definitely want to get things turned around for tomorrow and pick up my speed a lot. I really trust in the guys in my team so we’ll be working hard to improve things.”
• Dani Pedrosa 15th 1m 48.389s “Today we just wanted to get into the rhythm of this track. It was important to concentrate on testing race tyres today because the weather forecast is not looking so nice which means we must use the dry track time as usefully as possible. It’s my first time at Motegi on a MotoGP bike and there are some differences to the 250cc , mainly on the straights because they feel much shorter and everything arrives much quicker. Plus you arrive at the hard braking zones faster. My leg feels quite a lot better but I still have some pain and I must work to keep the flexibility. I like this track so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
• Makoto Tanaka - Team Manager “At Motegi we have increased pressure and strain because it’s our home Grand Prix. Luckily both our riders are very understanding that this is a very important race for us. Nicky’s time today is fifth which is not ideal, but the feeling from his chassis is better than usual. We have a lot of room for improvement in the bike’s set-up so his time should improve significantly, and his racing spirit is really powerful. The effect of Dani’s injuries is lessening and the pace at which he’s speeding up is increasing. At the end of the session the other riders improved their times with soft tyres, but Dani continued to work on race set-up with race tyres so his position is not representative. This is one of his favourite circuits and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do tomorrow. The general pace today was very high and I think tomorrow will be an exciting fight for everyone.”

BRIDGESTONE FRI REPORT      (TOP OF PAGE)

• Bridgestone Motorsport enjoyed a positive start to its home race preparations at the Twin Ring Motegi today with each of its teams adopting different strategies in free practice for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
• Shinya Nakano, participating in his and Kawasaki’s home GP, used a late qualifying simulation to good effect to go second quickest but the Japanese rider has already completed a race distance on one of Bridgestone’s selected compounds and was among the frontrunners on race tyres throughout the day.
• The Ducati duo had strong pace in race trim masked by other riders’ late runs. Loris Capirossi was quickest on race tyres this afternoon, some three-tenths-of-a-second faster than the rest of the field. His time of 1m47.731s represents a 0.2s increase over his race-winning best lap from last season.
• He and team-mate Sete Gibernau ended the day in seventh and 13th place respectively having not run on qualifying tyres. Randy de Puniet made a late lap on qualifying tyres to secure ninth place, just a fraction behind Suzuki’s John Hopkins who laid down the gauntlet in this morning’s practice session by posting the quickest time. He ended the day in eighth position also on qualifying tyres.
• Hopkins’ Australian team-mate Chris Vermeulen, fresh from his first MotoGP podium at his own home GP last weekend, made his Motegi debut today in 17th place.
• There are two new additions to the MotoGP class this weekend with wildcard riders Kousuke Akiyoshi and Naoki Matsudo taking part in their home GP on Bridgestone tyres. The Japanese men acquitted themselves well on the opening day finishing 14th and 16th for Suzuki and Kawasaki. Bridgestone tyres will also be seen in the 125cc and 250cc categories this weekend as six wildcard entries compete alongside the established riders.
• After the first day, 250cc riders Ryuji Yokoe, Ratthapark Wilairot and Seijin Oikawa have made their presence immediately felt with encouraging results finishing in respective eighth, tenth and 13th positions in this afternoon’s qualifying practice.
• Shinji Aoki, Bridgestone Motorsport - Assistant Manager Motorcycle Race Tire Development “This afternoon’s practice results will need to be treated with some care as it seems many riders used the opportunity to simulate a qualifying run in the closing stages of the session. Looking at the detailed lap times, though, it would appear that Bridgestone tyres are performing well after the first day of practice. Loris and Sete did not complete a run on qualifying tyres, so their times today are a good indication of what we can expect in dry race conditions. The fact that Loris was 0.3s clear for most of the afternoon shows that Ducati can be strong contenders in Motegi this weekend. Kawasaki and Suzuki have also performed well preparing for their home GP. Shinya conducted a long run in race conditions today and the tyre he used showed the required level of performance and durability. We evaluated five different compounds today and quickly found a good race rhythm in these weather conditions. Kawasaki and Suzuki also tried qualifying runs with satisfactory results. Friday afternoon has become a good time to simulate qualifying runs because conditions are more representative of those we will encounter during the actual qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. After day one, I think we are looking in good shape and can hope to perform well in our home GP on Sunday afternoon with all three of our teams.”

PREVIEW   (TOP OF PAGE)

YAMAHA PREVIEW

• Title chase heads north as Camel Yamaha Team travel to Japan
• The final leg of an exhausting Grand Prix triple-header takes place in Japan this weekend as the chase for the MotoGP World Championship heads north from Australia with Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi now the closest he has been to the series lead since the third round of the season in Turkey. Third place for the Italian at Phillip Island on Sunday moved him to within 21 points of Nicky Hayden (Honda), with this weekend's event at the Motegi circuit in the Tochigi prefecture providing another opportunity to cut that gap even further before the series returns to Europe for two final races in Portugal and Spain.
• As well as lifting him up to second place in the championship, Rossi's 89th top-three career finish in the premier class also moved him ahead of Giacomo Agostini in the all-time podiums list, with just Mick Doohan above him on 95. The 27-year-old's goal is to add to that tally with his 59th victory at a circuit where he has already celebrated on the top step in 2001.
• The statistics don't make such good reading for Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, whose impressive run of point-scoring finishes ended on 34 in Australia - just three short of another of Doohan's records. Edwards has a best finish of sixth at Motegi but he is doubly determined to improve on that in front of Yamaha's army of Japanese fans, who last saw him retiring from the Suzuka 8 Hour race with a mechanical problem in July.
• Valentino Rossi: Nothing is impossible
  Valentino Rossi admits that Motegi is not high on his list of favourite destinations although that opinion could easily be changed by another top result on Sunday. The Italian has bounced back from a series of early-season setbacks to hit top form in recent weeks and with three rounds remaining he still has a realistic chance of wrestling the title from Hayden's grasp.
• "Honestly it's not a track I like very much and I haven't had such a good time there in the past, but we're going to have to do our best at Motegi," says Rossi, who didn't finish last year's race after a collision with Marco Melandri. "Three races in a row like this is very hard, especially with this one as the third! We need to make the most of the practice time there because it is not a great track for us. Last year especially it was not a good weekend; we had a lot of problems during the practices and then the race result was very bad!"
• "A gap of 21 points is still a lot but it's not impossible so we can still try. Motegi is going to be a very important race for us, firstly because we know it's going to be difficult and secondly because we have to try to get more points from Hayden in order to stay in the fight. My M1 has been pretty good recently and I think we're going there in good shape, so hopefully we can make the most of the weekend and go back to Europe with an even better shot at the title."
• Colin Edwards: Positive thinking
  After enjoying the support of family and friends in Australia, Colin Edwards will again benefit from huge backing this weekend thanks to his army of Japanese fans. Twice a winner of the Suzuka 8 Hour race, one of those alongside Rossi, Edwards enjoyed plenty of success in Japan during his Superbike career and he hopes to revive the glory days by building on a good weekend of set-up work with the YZR-M1 machine in Australia."
• "I actually don't mind Motegi too much as a track, although I wouldn't say it's one of my favourites," says Edwards. "It's a pretty interesting track and I really like the four corners after the tunnel exit. We were sixth last year, which was okay, but we did have a few problems through the weekend to deal with which hopefully won't resurface this year. I've always enjoyed racing in Japan and I have loads of fans there, plus there's always a great atmosphere so it's generally a fun weekend."
• "Phillip island was obviously really disappointing, especially since we made such massive strides forward over the weekend and I was finally feeling like I was back where I should be in the way I could ride the bike. Basically I just have to forget what happened and think about the positives from the weekend and with any luck what worked there will work next week and we'll be able to get on it from the start on Friday morning. It's good in this way that we've got another race straight away - no time to sit around dwelling on the past!"
• Davide Brivio: Desperate for points
  Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is expecting a tough weekend for his riders at a circuit that has traditionally not favoured Yamaha machinery. However, the Italian insists that the team's focus will not waver as they target another victory points haul in the quest to lift the MotoGP World Championship crown for the third successive season.
• "Now we go to Motegi, which was very difficult for us last year and is never an easy track," admits Brivio. "We had a lot of set-up problems and then unfortunately Valentino crashed in the race and we came away with zero points! This year of course we are desperate for points so we need a very different weekend."
• "Over the last few races the situation with our bike has been pretty good, so with any luck this will be the case even in Motegi. We know it will be difficult of course, but we go there in good shape and ready to fight. Colin was in great shape at Phillip Island but sadly the rain stopped him from getting the result he deserved. We hope he won't have any pain remaining from his fall and that he can keep working in the good way he was in Australia, as we all want to see him back on top again."
• Technically speaking: Motegi according to Andrea Zugna
  Designed in 1997 as a test venue, Motegi has ultra-modern facilities although the outstanding paddock is not quite matched by the intricacies and character of a somewhat geometric circuit layout. A bump-free surface offers good levels of grip without being particularly abrasive, but the proliferation of second gear turns, linked for the most part by mini-drag strips, means braking and acceleration are the main prerequisite to a fast lap time, and consistency the key to a good race.
• "Motegi is a stop and go track so it's very important to be very strong and stable on the brakes," explains Andrea Zugna, Colin Edwards' Data Technician. "You need a good front fork setting and then the engine braking setting is also very important. You also need to be strong on the acceleration in order to be able to get away quickly, otherwise you're going to be passed at the next braking point. It is quite stressful on the front tyre because of the long braking sections, so you need the right front setting to cope with this."
• "It wasn't a very easy weekend for Colin last year; we didn't really find a way for him to have enough confidence in the front tyre for the race, so this is something we really need to work on from Friday morning this year. The Yamaha's strongest point is agility so it doesn't necessarily play to our strengths, but the M1 worked okay in Malaysia so we can start from this setting and hopefully make improvements from there."

HONDA PREVIEW      (TOP OF PAGE)

• With this season’s MotoGP World Championship showing every sign of reaching a conclusion at perhaps the very last round of the season, series points leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) hits Motegi for round 15 of this 17 race series with a 21-point advantage over his nearest rival Valentino Rossi (Yamaha).

  The Kentucky Kid is eager to bolster his lead here. Nicky knows that he cannot afford to let his advantage get whittled away either by Rossi or the two Honda men still in the hunt for the title , Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) and Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) who are both only 32 points behind Hayden.

  With this much pressure heaped on his shoulders Nicky is holding up well and his positive attitude and refreshing ability to enjoy his racing even when there is so much at stake is a big plus when the going gets as tough as this.

  The Repsol Honda rider can consider himself unlucky when his chief rival Rossi was the beneficiary of the debatable decision of the Race Direction following Rossi’s passing maneuver under a yellow flag incident that cost the Kentuckian valuable points in the last weeks Australian GP.

  With Motegi as Honda’s ‘home’ track, Nicky knows this is the place where he can really perform and endeavour to take the title further away from his rivals’ grasp. With 75 points still available, all four men are still in the hunt , but Nicky knows he must extend his lead here to take the sting out of his pursuers claims.

  His record here is not outstanding: a seventh place last year, a first lap fall in 2004 and a third in his rookie year do not suggest that Motegi is by any means a happy hunting ground for the American. But his 2006 form indicates he is due another high score , and if he can just keep finishing ahead of his challengers, then he will complete the task of securing that World title.

  Dani knows his Phillip Island result was inadequate in terms of putting pressure on his team-mate, but the young Spaniard has tasted success at Motegi before on a 250cc machine, winning in 2004 and finishing second last year. He also won here on a 125 in 2002. Now that his Sepang injuries have had another week to mend, he will be a danger man here.

  And then there’s the combative Melandri, fresh from a win in Australia and with an undeniable end-of-season momentum that might prove hard to stop in Japan. Factor in Rossi and there seems little doubt that this race will again provide the same sort of intensity that was witnessed in Australia last weekend.

  The ‘Twin Ring’ Motegi track, built in 1998, lies 150km north of Tokyo. It is owned by Honda and features an outer ‘Indy” style oval with a regular track in the infield. This features a relatively short 762m main straight, eight right turns, six lefts, with a grippy, smooth and predictable surface.

  The largely constant-radius, second and third gear turns are linked by medium-length straights. Set-up requires a bike that’s stable both under fierce acceleration and equally severe braking. Front/rear balance and suspension settings are key, and the RC211V’s smooth and predictable power delivery is a real bonus here.

  The track also features gradient and a spectacular tunnel, although nothing in the way of camber. The back straight is downhill into a tight right-hand bend. And although the main straight is only 0.762km long, the tunnel between turn five and the 130R turn more than makes up for a long main chute in terms of spectacle , and rarity value. No other MotoGP track boasts subway sections.

  After the gripping race in wet conditions in Australia, more unsettled weather is predicted this weekend. And if rain prevails then Pedrosa, who admits to being uncomfortable in the wet, will be at a disadvantage.

  Nicky said, “I look forward to moving on to Motegi. I got third place here in my rookie year, though I’ve had some weaker results since and struggled a bit, so I’m planning to do better for my Japanese fans this year. I always get lots of support in Japan and I’m going to be really trying to make my fans proud, and the guys in my team because they’ve been working really hard. It’s Honda’s home race too so it would be nice to give the Honda fans something to shout about too.”

  “I’m looking forward to this race very much,” said Dani. “Motegi is a circuit I really like and I’ve had some good results here in the past. I haven’t ridden a MotoGP bike here before so I’m hoping to adapt to it quickly. This race is the last of three in a row and they’ve been quite difficult for me because of the injuries I picked up in Malaysia. But each time I ride the bike it’s a little easier and I’m hoping to make a good result here. Of course we’ll have to see what the weather’s going to do in Motegi because it’s possible it will rain here too.”

  “I’m very happy,” said Melandri. “After the incredible race at Phillip Island, that came just at the right time for me, I look forward to racing in Japan with the same enthusiasm. Thanks to the win, the third of the season, I jumped to third position in the World Championship. I’m confident for the three races to go, and this year the series is very close and I think it will remain open to the end.”

  His team-mate Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) said, “I like Motegi and I’ve had good results here with two wins in the 250cc class. I hope we can finally get some good results and turn this complicated season around. The team is doing a great job and my feeling with the bike is improving. At Motegi it’s very important to find a good set-up early on. Because of the strong braking, it’s important to have a really good balance on the bike. The secret is to find that compromise in behaviour between braking and acceleration.”

  Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V), who was third here on a 250 last year, said, “I really want to finish this season strongly and Japan’s another chance to show what we can do with the RC211V. After all the excitement in Australia I could do with a regular race and a podium finish, so we’ll see how we go.”

  Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) is eager to try and finish this season on a high after a troubled 2006 so far. He won here in 2004, having qualified on pole and he also finished third here last season. He said, ‘Motegi’ is my ‘home ’ race and I have won a race here before and stood on the podium and I will be racing in front of my Japanese friends and fans. I am sure that I will have a good race on Sunday. I hope I’ve paid my dues and can now make the best use of the potential I have here at my home race at Motegi.”

  Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V), a winner here in 1999, has shown the undoubted potential of the RC211V-engined Roberts machine this year and he is anxious to keep the steep development curve on the up here. He said, “This is a great opportunity to give Honda some reward for the support they’ve given us in this project and we’ll be going hard at it from Friday.”

  In the 250cc class Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) trails series points leader Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) by 24 points and knows Motegi represents one of the last opportunities to close the gap.

  He said, “I like Motegi and I’ve always been fast here. In 2004 I won the race in front of Lai and Corsi. In 2005, though, I was third until I made a small mistake and went wide losing almost one second from the leading group and I eventually finished sixth. Now, I look forward to racing, but it depends also on the weather because I’ve never ridden here in wet conditions and it seems that the forecast is for rain.”

  Dovi’s team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW), who will race against his younger brother Koiki on Sunday, said, “Well, Motegi is my 'home' GP, so it’s a special event because there will be my family and all the guys of the fan club there to watch the race and to support me. I know this track very well and my expectations are very high, also because of last Sunday’s retirement in Australia. In 2005, I crossed the line fourth and this was my best result of the season. Next Sunday I will do my best to achieve a better result.”

  Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) said, “I’m really looking forward to the race in Japan, because it’s a circuit I obviously know very well. I want at least to get on the podium, but my real target is to win the race.
  I like the circuit a lot and I’m sure that with this bike I will be able to make a very good race here. I’m also looking forward to meeting my fans and friends there and I hope to be able to make a good race for them.”

  David de Gea, standing in for the injured Martin Cardenas (Repsol Honda RS250RW), said, “I’m very happy to have a chance like this, it will possibly be the best I ever had in my sports career. The first thing I want to do is to thank Honda, Repsol and Alberto Puig for the chance they’ve given me; I only hope to do a good job in return for the confidence that have put in me. I know the Motegi circuit because I’ve raced a couple of times there, once on a 250cc and once on a 500cc machine, so it won’t be a problem to remember the layout after a couple of laps.”

  The 125cc title has already gone to Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia), but Honda men will be fighting hard to put their factory machines among the podium places here. Among them, 2005 World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R).

  He said, “I like Motegi, it’s an OK track for me, even though I had a very bad crash there last year. It's a track of two parts and I like all of it, the fast corner and the places where you can make up places with hard braking. We have a really good bike now and I am confident we will have a good race there.”

  Rookie Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) is stronger after his return to action in Australia after an arm injury. He said, “I’ve seen the track on Play Station and it looks more like a stop/start circuit rather than a fast like Australia. I don’t know whether that will suit me or not but after the last weekend with the positive things we need to carry on doing the same and trying to improve here. It’s Honda’s track as well so there is extra incentive to do well there.”

DUCATI PREVIEW      (TOP OF PAGE)

• The Ducati Marlboro Team comes to Japan this week aiming to get back on the podium after fickle weather thwarted its chances of success in Australia last Sunday. Riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau were both fast enough to make the top three at Phillip Island and they come to Motegi in upbeat mood, confident that they will have an excellent bike and tyre package for the Japanese track.
• Last year at Motegi Capirossi took the ‘triple crown' - pole position, race victory and lap record - an unforgettable performance at the Japanese motorcycle industry's home race. And both the team's riders are on fine form at the moment, Capirossi taking a win and a second place at the two races preceding the Australian round, while Gibernau led at Phillip Island to prove that he is fully up to speed following a second round of surgery on the left collarbone he broke back in June.
• LORIS CAPIROSSI, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 5th overall, 180 points "I am really looking forward to riding another proper race because I hate races like last weekend's, when the weather decides everything. Last year's Motegi victory is a very special memory for us. For Ducati to win a MotoGP race in the home of the Japanese bike factories was incredible, a really amazing achievement for everyone involved in this project. Looking back at last year, Motegi was one of our easier races because our bike and tyres worked so well there. You also need a lot of horsepower for acceleration from the many slow corners, and the Ducati engine has always been very strong. This time we will do our best to win again, but we will wait and see. Same for the championship, we will have to see what happens. Motegi is also Bridgestone's home race, so we want to give them another great result. Their tyres work so well there, the lean angles you get are amazing. Bridgestones also work for my style."
• SETE GIBERNAU, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 12th overall, 82 points "I can't wait to get to Motegi because I need a victory and I feel like we are getting close to achieving that. The team is working well and Bridgestone is giving us great tyres. After last weekend I'm looking for payback even though I have never really liked Motegi. I'll just have to see if Loris can help me out because he's very fast there. Ducati and Bridgestone also perform really well there, so I hope this will be the year that the circuit changes for me. I find it hard to get into a rhythm at Motegi, I find the track boring, and I need to enjoy my riding. The layout is very stop-and-go, so I can never use the front tyre the way I want to use it. Hopefully Ducati and Bridgestone will help me out, help me find some pace. In fact I have done some pretty good races there, fighting for the podium once, but I have yet to click a result which would change the place for me."
• LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager "It's good to race again immediately after such a strange race. We could have had both riders on the podium at Phillip Island so it's good to move on from that. We were strong in the wet and in the dry but the strange weather spoiled our day. We go to Motegi confident that we can be very fast again. It is a special event and for us to win there is a very special feeling! Japan is a very important market for Ducati, so we want to do well for all the Ducatisti."
• THE TRACK
  Twin Ring Motegi is stop-and-go in character with few high-speed corners. The track features plenty of slow turns linked by medium-length straights which puts the emphasis on braking and acceleration performance.
• Motegi hosted its inaugural Grand Prix, the Japanese GP, in 1999. From 2000 to 2003 the venue hosted the Pacific GP while the country's older Suzuka track ran the Japanese GP until it was declared too dangerous. Twin Ring Motegi is so called because it features both a Grand Prix track and an Indy oval. Constructed by Honda in 1998 to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary, the venue is located in the hills to the north west of Tokyo, between the cities of Mito and Utsonomiya. Motegi's construction entailed a massive civil engineering project that included the razing of seven hills and the filling of two valleys.

SUZUKI PREVIEW   (TOP OF PAGE)

• Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen will be joined by Factory Test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi in a three-man team for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.
• Akiyoshi will be making his Grand Prix debut alongside the Rizla Suzuki regulars. The 31-year-old Japanese star will be racing the same Suzuki GSV-R that the Rizla Suzuki team has been using all season, and will be looking to put home track knowledge to his advantage as he takes on the best motorcycle racers in the world.
• The team comes to Japan buoyed by last weekend’s podium for Vermeulen and will be looking to get back in the groove as quickly as possible over the 4.8km Japanese track. Hopkins qualified on the front row at Motegi last year, whilst Vermeulen will be visiting the circuit for the first time.
• Motegi is located just over 90 kilometres to the north-east of Tokyo. The track is one of the safest and most modern on the MotoGP Calendar, and with an interesting mix of fast ess bends, hairpins and a top-speed downhill section into a 90° bend, Motegi is a very exciting and demanding circuit.
• Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will have two free practice sessions on Friday followed by a further free session on Saturday morning. The real business of qualifying for round 15 of the MotoGP World Championship will be on Saturday afternoon and the riders will take to the track for the race at 14.00hrs local time (05.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 24th September.
• Paul Denning, Team Manager: “We come to Motegi after - what was until the race , a difficult weekend in Australia, both the guys worked extremely hard there and if points were scored for trying they would both have made the podium! We have certainly learnt some valuable lessons from Phillip Island and we will work on the data to make sure we can find a solution if a situation like that presents itself again.
• “Motegi is a very important race for Suzuki as it is obviously the ‘home’ Grand Prix for the factory. We will be joined this week by Akiyoshi san and we hope that he can put on a good display and enjoy his first ever GP. John goes very well around Motegi and the GSV-R should be well suited to the track so we will be hoping for a strong performance from him. Chris is visiting this circuit for the first time but I am sure he will adapt to it very quickly and find the layout to his liking. There will be a lot of fans, guests and employees of Suzuki at Motegi and we’ll be looking to give them something to cheer about!”

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