2006 MotoGP - CHINESE GP

R4, CHINA, SHANGHAI, MAY 14, 2006

RACE RESULT (TOP OF PAGE)

• 1st, Dani Pedrosa (Honda) : "I was very focused on my job and was just trying to get best time every time, and we were just trying to increase the gap every lap. The weather respected us today it seemed, and this was very good for the race and for us. It’s fantastic, I started well this time and although it was hard I am delighted to have won my first race in MotoGP."
• 2nd, Nicky Hayden (Honda) : "I always believed that I could run Dani down in the race and take the lead, but I have to give him credit. I tried to put the heat on him but he was just too quick. The team have done a job to be proud of, it’s always a bit of a gamble with the weather but they pulled it off. I want that win, I’ll try and do better next time, but second is still a good result."
• 3rd, Colin Edwards (Yamaha) : "I’m relieved to be back on the podium. It's no secret that we’ve had our problems, we knew that we had difficulties yesterday even though we were on the front row. We worked backwards in Turkey to try and find a solution with the set-up. That first corner was a little bit scary, John Hopkins came underneath me, and I just left him to it and decided to go as fast as I could. The two frontrunners came through like a freight train I tried to keep up but there was nothing I could do."

		RACE	MAY 14, 2006
	POS	RIDER	BIKE	LAP	GAP
	1	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	22	0
	2	Nicky Hayden	Repsol Honda Team		+1.5s
	3	Colin Edwards	Camel Yamaha Team		+14.6
	4	John Hopkins	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
	5	Casey Stoner	Honda LCR
	6	Makoto Tamada	Konica Minolta Honda
	7	Marco Melandri	Fortuna Honda
	8	Loris Capirossi	Ducati Marlboro Team
	9	Sete Gibernau	Ducati Marlboro Team
	10	Shinya Nakano	Kawasaki Racing Team
	11	Toni Elias	Fortuna Honda
	12	Randy de Puniet	Kawasaki Racing Team
	13	Kenny Roberts	Team Roberts Honda
	14	Carlos Checa	Tech 3 Yamaha
	15	Alex Hofmann	Pramac d'Antin MotoGP
	16	James Ellison	Tech 3 Yamaha
	17	J Cardoso	Ducati

DNF: Vermeulen - crash; Rossi - retired with tyre problems

RACE REPORT - DORNA

• Dani Pedrosa took his first MotoGP victory today at the Shanghai Circuit, confirming his status as a serious title contender in his debut season. The Repsol Honda rider, who started from pole, came back from a quiet start to lead the entire second half of the race ahead of team-mate Nicky Hayden. Colin Edwards put himself on the podium for the first time this season whilst fellow Camel Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi saw his spectacular fightback through the field cut short by a tyre problem.
• Despite being forced wide in the seemingly endless first corner Pedrosa picked his way through the pack, eventually claiming the lead from Edwards on lap ten and never looking back. Pedrosa and Hayden then exchanged fastest laps over the next few until the 20 year-old Spaniard set the definitive lap record on lap 19 of 22. Keeping more or less a one second gap to Hayden to the finish line, Pedrosa now becomes the joint second-youngest rider ever to win a MotoGP race, behind Freddie Spencer and level with Norick Abe.
• Rizla Suzuki’s John Hopkins meanwhile had a great start to the race, following Edwards’ holeshot and keeping up with the 'Texan Tornado' for practically the whole race. Whilst Edwards pulled away slightly towards the end to seal third, Hopkins' bike, tyres and nerve held out for fourth place, the highest of his career.
• Casey Stoner, who dropped down to tenth at one point after running off track, impressively made his way back up to fifth to continue his run of top six finishes.
• A superb battle was taking place between Konica Minolta Honda's Makoto Tamada and the Ducati Marlboro duo of Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau, which had the 32,402 Asian crowd on the edge of their seats, as he repeatedly looked to pass on the inside. A well deserved sixth place came at the expense of Marco Melandri, with Capirossi, Gibernau and Shinya Nakano closing out the top ten behind him.
• Rossi’s exit from the race came after his second trip to the pits. The reigning World Champion entered the boxes on lap fifteen to have his rear tyre changed, but completed only one more lap before having to retire. Australian Chris Vermeulen was the only other retiree, crashing out early.
• Victory for a clearly delighted Pedrosa puts him up to third in the overall classification, with Hayden extending his championship lead to thirteen points over Loris Capirossi.
• After earning his first pole position in the 250cc category yesterday, Hector Barbera was the victor in the quarter-litre race in Shanghai today. The Spaniard beat Andrea Dovizioso after a hard fought dogfight between the two which ran from start to finish. Barbera finished two tenths ahead of his rival and some three seconds faster than third-placed Hiroshi Aoyama. The Japanese KTM rider took third after Jorge Lorenzo ran wide on the penultimate lap to let him through.
• Dovizioso continues to occupy the top spot in the overall classification, ahead of Barbera, whilst Lorenzo drops to third after coming home in fourth place.
• Mika Kallio was the last-gasp victor of the 125cc race at the end of a hard-fought final lap. The Finn, who started the race from pole, came in less than a tenth of a second ahead of Mattia Pasini, with World Championship leader Alvaro Bautista occupying the final podium place.
• Lukas Pesek took the lead on the penultimate corner but ran wide, allowing Kallio to make his move. The Red Bull KTM rider still lies second in the Championship, 28 points behind Bautista.

SUZUKI RACE REPORT (HOPKINS 4TH)

• Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins scored his best ever MotoGP finish with a superb fourth place during today’s Polini Grand Prix of China in Shanghai.
• The Anglo-American star got off to a great start from the front row of the grid and ran in second place for over a third of the race. He was passed by eventual winner Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden – both on Honda’s – on lap 10 but continued with his strong pace and chased down Colin Edwards. Hopkins tried everything to get past Edwards but just couldn’t find the extra speed from his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to do so. After settling for his hard fought position two laps from the end, he wheelied his bike across the line in fourth place in front of his cheering crew.
• Chris Vermeulen had a less happy day. Starting in 12th place he fought hard with several riders early on but a mistake on lap four caused the rookie Australian to crash out. He was unhurt in the incident, but was unable to remount and carry on racing.
• The race was watched by over 32,000 excited and warm fans, as temperatures reached 31°C. Spaniard Pedrosa won his first-ever MotoGP race and second placed Hayden now leads the championship by 13 points. The next Round of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship is at Le Mans in France on Sunday 21st May.
• John Hopkins: “I’m ecstatic right now! I feel really good about the whole race. I got off the line well and worked hard all through the race. I knew I had to be in the draft of another bike and not to use my tyres up too early. I got behind Colin Edwards and let him pull me along. We were passed by Nicky and Dani, and they were running an unbelievable pace, it was something we couldn’t keep with. From then on I stuck on Colin’s wheel and thought I’d have a bit more towards the end. I started to push harder in the last few laps, but it was going beyond the limit and at the end of the day I really wanted to finish in my best ever position – so that’s what I did!
• “I have got to give a big thanks to my whole crew, they worked fantastically all weekend and without them I wouldn’t be anywhere – they’re a lot of the reason why I am here at Suzuki. The Bridgestone tyres worked awesome today, I reckon I had a bit more edge-grip than Colin and they were still working well at the end of the race.
• “I am really happy and I just also want to say it’s my Mum’s birthday, so Happy Birthday to her and Happy American Mother’s Day to her as well – I hope she was pleased with the finish!”
• Chris Vermeulen: “Obviously not the result we wanted, I didn’t finish and I didn’t get any points – that’s the worst thing. It was difficult all weekend with the weather and learning a new track. The bike felt really good in the race though and everybody seemed really even. I was behind Randy de Puniet, he was holding me up a bit and I made a mistake and nearly ran into the back of him and pushed a bit too hard and lost the front – but hey that’s racing! I hope I can learn from that mistake and don’t do it again. Full congratulations to John and the whole team – it was a great result for Rizla Suzuki.”
• Paul Denning – Team Manager: “A fantastic performance from John and the whole Rizla Suzuki team. We thought before the race that a top 10 position would be a good result in today’s conditions, but to see the bike run towards the front for the whole of the race was beyond our expectations. I believe that today John came of age as a MotoGP rider and demonstrated his true potential.
• “Chris was very unlucky with his crash, he was pushing hard to move forward and a simple mistake cost him his race. I know he will bounce back from this and show the kind of form he can at Le Mans next weekend.
• “The GSV-R never missed a beat all weekend and the result shows how far we have come in the last few races. Suzuki has worked very hard to get the bike more consistent and I think that the positions we have been in over the last three days have shown that it is able to run well in all conditions. We are still searching for that extra mid-range power and I am sure that when we get the full potential out of the bike we will be able to push for podiums.
• “I must thank Bridgestone, they responded fantastically after the last race and the tyres we have had here have been superb – both wet and dry.
• “Finally big thanks and well done once again to the crew, they consistently give 100% effort and are the biggest asset of the team. Today’s result is a great reward for all their hard work and gives everybody motivation to keep pushing.”

QUALIFYING (TOP OF PAGE)

• for the 3rd time in a row, a rookie is on pole. After Stoner and Vermeulen took pole at the last 2 races, Dani Pedrosa has his maiden MotoGP pole.
• Valentino Rossi will start 13th: " we have a lot of problems and it's disappointing to be back in this position again"
• PEDROSA: "It’s really good to be on pole position and I’m really happy because this time I went quickly on qualifying tyres which is something I haven’t managed so well in the previous qualifying sessions ... Sunday will be a difficult race because we don't know what the weather's going to do, it's changing all the time ... We have a good position at the start and hopefully I can get away well and then we have to fight." "

		GRID	MAY 13, 2006 (Temp: 19ºC Weather: Dry)
	POS	RIDER	BIKE	TIME	GAP
	1	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	1m 59.009	0
	2	John Hopkins	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP		+0.364
	3	Colin Edwards	Camel Yamaha Team
	4	Shinya Nakano	Kawasaki Racing Team
	5	Nicky Hayden	Repsol Honda Team
	6	Sete Gibernau	Ducati Marlboro Team
	7	Casey Stoner	Honda LCR
	8	Marco Melandri	Fortuna Honda
	9	Randy de Puniet	Kawasaki Racing Team
	10	Loris Capirossi	Ducati Marlboro Team
	11	Makoto Tamada	Konica Minolta Honda
	12	Chris Vermulen	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
	13	Valentino Rossi	Camel Yamaha Team
	14	Carlos Checa	Tech 3 Yamaha
	15	Toni Elias	Fortuna Honda
	16	Alex Hofmann	Pramac d'Antin MotoGP
	17	James Ellison	Tech 3 Yamaha
	18	Kenny Roberts	Team Roberts Honda
	19	Cardoso	Ducati

PEDROSA / HONDA QUALIFYING REPORT     (TOP OF PAGE)

• Repsol Honda young-gun Dani Pedrosa continued his spectacular debut season in MotoGP here today by taking pole position for tomorrow’s Polini Grand Prix of China. The 20-year-old Spaniard, in only his fourth Grand Prix in the premier class, showed that he’s mastered the use of Michelin’s qualifying tyres by setting a time 0.364s seconds clear of the field.
• The hour-long session started unexpectedly dry and with the ever-present threat of rain the MotoGP the field rushed to set a good lap- time. Pedrosa was lying in second place after 25 minutes when a rain shower threatened to prevent anyone from improving their time. Yet with 20 minutes to go the circuit dried and Pedrosa entered a battle for top spot which he ultimately won, despite fierce challenges from his rivals.
• The young Spaniard will be hoping to replicate the excellent start he made at the beginning of the last race in Turkey where he charged from 16th on the grid to take the lead.
• Nicky Hayden, who leads the world championship, finished the session just 0.565s behind his team-mate in fifth position and will start tomorrow’s race from the middle of the second row. Riding the evolution Repsol Honda RC211V the 24-year-old from Owensboro, Kentucky would have preferred an uninterrupted session to continue working on bike set-up, but he remains confident about tomorrow’s race. Hayden’s on an impressive run of consistency right now, and another podium finish would be the American’s eighth in a row.
• The 22-lap Chinese Grand Prix here at the 5.281km (3.280 miles) Shanghai track begins at 3pm (7am GMT) on Sunday following a 20- minute warm up session in the morning.
• Dani Pedrosa 1st – 1m 59.009s: “It’s really good to be on pole position and I’m really happy because this time I went quickly on qualifying tyres which is something I haven’t managed so well in the previous qualifying sessions. I don’t really know what was different today – it was not one specific thing - I just felt more confident with the tyres, so I am happy. The session was strange because it was dry, then it rained, then it was dry again so maybe not everyone was able to perform at the same level. One important thing is that we couldn’t test the race tyres as much as we’d have liked. Anyway, I’ll just be looking to make a good start and have a good race tomorrow. I’m not thinking about the win yet, just to perform at my maximum.”
• Nicky Hayden 5th – 1m 59.574s: “The shower in the middle of qualifying screwed things up for us a little bit so we’ve still got a few unanswered questions for tomorrow. Last year it rained a lot too, and it’s the first year here with this new bike so we could have used some more dry time to sort some stuff out, but everyone’s in that same boat. My biggest issue right now is with engine braking unsettling the bike into corners. This morning we were working on that, and it’s a little bit frustrating but we’ll come ready to get our heads down and see if we can sort something in warm- up tomorrow. It feels good to be leading the championship and I’m happy with my run of consistency, so I’m looking for that next win.”
• Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager: “Dani did a very good job today! The dry conditions today were a pleasant surprise, but the rain shower made things tricky and gave us an exciting end to the session. Dani usually needs time to methodically improve his lap-times, but today he showed fantastic focus to take the first MotoGP pole position in his life. Plus, he had good pace with the race tyres so I’m looking forward to see how he gets on tomorrow. Nicky also put in some good work but needed to take one more step to be on the front row. He is in fine shape but the rain affected his normal qualifying procedure today. He needs to fine tune the set-up because the situation with the engine breaking is not perfect, but I believe he is a strong rider and has the ability to do the job tomorrow. We’re all hoping the race will be held in good dry conditions.”

ROSSI / YAMAHA QUALIFYING REPORT     (TOP OF PAGE)

• MotoGP : Edwards seals front row start at Shanghai
• Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards will start from the front row of the MotoGP grid in tomorrow's Grand Prix of China after setting the third fastest time in a dramatic single qualifying session today. After battling through torrentially wet conditions yesterday, the riders enjoyed a cloudy but dry free practice this morning as they sought to find a suitable dry set-up for their machines. The afternoon started in similar conditions but a brief rain shower midway through the session confined the riders to a tense spell in their pit garages before a thrilling late shootout for grid positions.
• Whilst Edwards battled for the top spot with eventual pole setter Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and second-fastest John Hopkins (Suzuki), his Camel Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was unable to repeat the kind of form that saw him dominate proceedings in the wet conditions yesterday. The Italian was one of several riders to struggle with a lack of dry practice time as he looked to iron out set-up problems and find his pace. He now faces another battle through the pack after setting the 13th fastest time, meaning he will start from the fifth row of the grid.
• Colin Edwards (3rd; 1'59.383, 15 laps)
  "This has been a really strange weekend because we started off by finding a setting for the wet and then converted it to the dry - usually it is the other way around! I felt so comfortable with the bike yesterday and I was disappointed when I saw that I was down in thirteenth, but I knew the reason for that and I was really confident about today. I can't really explain why we were off the pace in Turkey but have been right on it here in China, because we have hardly touched anything with the bike, just played around with the suspension. We've got some chatter in certain areas of the track but it's worse when the grip is good, especially when we put a qualifying tyre on. On race rubber you can hardly notice it so I think we have a good setting to go the distance tomorrow and I am happy with my tyre choice. I've had some decent starts to races so far this season but haven't been able to maintain the pace, so hopefully I can turn that around tomorrow. It feels good to be back on
  the front row."
• Valentino Rossi (13th; 2'00.720, 18 laps):
  "For sure we have a lot of problems and it's disappointing to be back in this position again after such a good day yesterday. When the grip becomes normal again, like today, we have a lot of chatter and it's very hard to ride the bike. Really this situation is quite bad, as the chatter has returned again today and it is similar to how it was in Jerez. Now we have to start from the fifth row and so it's going to be a very hard race. We have talked a lot tonight in the garage and now we will try some things in the morning during warm-up and hope that we can make some final improvements. Now I need to ride a defensive race, try not to make any mistakes and try to take as many points as possible."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director: "A very good result for Colin - it's been a while since he was on the front row so it is good to see him back there. He seems much more comfortable on the bike and it's good to see that he is able to ride it so effectively. Unfortunately Valentino wasn't able to follow up his good performance from yesterday with a similar result today, so we will have to take a look at the data with the engineers and try to come up with some ideas for the warm-up tomorrow."
• Clouds clear to allow progress for Tech 3 Yamaha Team
• The rain clouds of the opening day cleared sufficiently to permit steady progress for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team during Day Two of the Polini Grand Prix of China at the technically demanding Shanghai International Circuit. However, the solitary qualifying session for all important grid positions was briefly interrupted when a light sprinkling of rain covered the circuit to curtail proceedings for a quarter of the one-hour period. With a new batch of Dunlop qualifying tyres, team riders Carlos Checa and James Ellison secured 14th and 17th positions respectively, the most encouraging aspect for the team being both riders are closer to the leading lap times than in previous Grands Prix. With race weekend's doubling as tyre tests, it has confirmed that the team is heading in a positive direction in both wet and dry conditions.
• Carlos Checa (14th, 2'01.052, 18 laps): "Considering everything that has happened with the weather, it hasn't been too bad. In the morning session on race tyres we have found a direction to move forward and now physically I'm feeling ok after my injuries from Jerez. I have all my strength and gives me more confidence to push hard for the entire race which is quite important to me. I hope tomorrow can be a dry race as we have a few solutions to try in the warm-up and we'll see if we can improve a few other areas to make better and better. The front tyre is working quite well, but the rear we need to increase grip and stability. We already know the race tyre but after the break in qualifying we couldn't run any more race tyres tests as we had to use the new qualifying tyres to make sure we kept within range of the others".
• James Ellison (17th. 2'02.088, 16 laps): "The qualifying tyres are working quite well now. We've made a massive improvement compared to what we have done previously. I'm also just a second from Carlos and that is the closest I've been all year which is another encouraging sign for me. Tomorrow in warm-up we're going to try the race tyre I prefer which is a slightly bigger one and run the whole session with it. With the bigger tyre we have found the stability we were missing so that's a good confidence boost and if the temperature is hotter as the forecast indicates that's going to help us as well. We've been making big improvements every session this weekend and we're getting closer on the race set up considering we really only had that one hour session this morning. During a meeting we have to test qualifying, slicks and wet tyres so it's hard to find a race setup but that's what we have to do. After four races we've now found a good direction to push forward and unlike other teams we have no data from previous yea
  rs to work on so with everything considered I think that we are finally making the progress we have been aiming for".
• Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director: "We've had a good two days and given a lot of information to Dunlop about wet weather tyre development. Carlos found a good feeling with his tyre for the dry and so did James. We've done all our times since Qatar on race tyres but now the qualifying tyres seem to be working well. Carlos is in between Elias and Rossi which shows we are between good riders and different bikes. I'm very pleased with James this afternoon. I'm sure when James gets some more confidence he will improve a lot. Hopefully the race will be dry, because nobody has done a lot of laps but we are happy. We are progressing and we are improving. We won't win the race or be on the podium tomorrow but we are performing our mission as we started from scratch with Dunlop. Also, now that Carlos is recovered I think it will help him racing more aggressively and more comfortably".

HOPKINS / SUZUKI QUALIFYING REPORT     (TOP OF PAGE)

• John Hopkins roared to a fantastic second place during today’s qualifying session for the Polini Grand Prix of China to give Rizla Suzuki MotoGP its second front row start in consecutive races.
• The uncompromising riding style of Hopkins was demonstrated as he went out for his final lap, trying so hard that he even managed to touch his elbow on the track as he searched for that extra time to put him at the front of the grid. Hopkins and his team had worked successfully all day to find the correct combination of Bridgestone tyres and bike set-up in today’s dry conditions. He improved on his times consistently in both sessions and was never outside the top 10. A stunningly quick pit stop by his crew right at the end of qualifying enabled him the extra time he needed to complete his final and fastest lap with only seconds to spare.
• Chris Vermeulen will start on the fourth row of the grid in 12th place. He used today’s two sessions to their full extent to get in valuable dry track time on the Shanghai circuit. He too consistently brought down his times and is looking forward to tomorrow’s race.
• Today’s pole position was taken by reigning 250cc World Champion Dani Pedrosa. Tomorrow’s 22-lap race is round four of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship and the lights will change to go at 15.00hrs local time (07.00hrs GMT).
• John Hopkins, 2ND: “I can’t complain at that! I was a bit upset afterwards as I thought I was going to get the pole position that I want. I’ve been on the front row a few times now but never pole! After the session we think we have found a tyre that is going to work pretty good for us tomorrow. The bike worked well today in the dry, but at the moment I would have to say that it will be a bit easier for us if it is wet. I owe my best lap to my crew, because an 18 second pit-stop to change a tyre is pretty amazing. They did a great job and it was because of them that I got the lap. I now just want to get the best start possible and run at the front and see where we go from there.”
• Chris Vermeulen: “Today was my first dry time on the track and it was very different from in the wet. Everything was coming up a lot quicker and I had to find my way around and learn the track all over again. The guys are working really hard and we’ve made a lot of changes to the bike this afternoon - they all seemed to work pretty well. At the end I made a little mistake in the last part of my fastest lap and I know I would have been better placed if that hadn’t have happened. Everything seems to be going well. Congratulations must go to John as he did a really fast time and that has got to be good for all of the team.”
• Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Another stunning qualifying effort by the whole team, this time we are delighted to see John on the front row – the first time since Motegi last year. I don’t think he could have got a lot more out the GSV-R on that quick lap and all you can ask is for the riders to go to the limit, and John certainly did that today.
• “Chris looked set for a better position but a small mistake in the final sector cost him valuable time. However it was still a great effort because this morning was the first time he had ridden around this track in the dry.
• “If it’s raining tomorrow I think both riders will be fully competitive, but if it’s dry then there is no question that it will be a bit harder for us, based on the fact that we still need that bit more grunt to maintain our lap time when tyre grip is reduced over a race distance. Suzuki has worked extremely hard recently – and continues to do so - and the team and riders have done everything they can to make sure that we run as close to the front as possible.”

STONER / LCR HONDA QUALIFYING REPORT     (TOP OF PAGE)

• Honda LCR rider Casey Stoner will start tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix from seventh position following a rain-interrupted qualifying session today.
• Stoner recovered from a slow-speed fall at the final corner fall just as a light rain shower hit the circuit 22 minutes into the session. As the scramble for grid positions resumed with less than 15 minutes remaining Stoner was second fastest, but dropped to seventh at the finish.
• Stoner was forced to switch to his spare Honda RCV after his harmless crash but with a different set-up he lacked confidence in the front- end. In the morning practice session, the only dry session in two days, Stoner was again impressive, posting the fastest time -- 0.3s ahead of Nicky Hayden.
• Tomorrow’s 22 lap race will be Stoner’s first MotoGP race at Shanghai where he won last year’s 250cc Chinese Grand Prix.
• CASEY STONER: “I had a small slip just as the rain started and then I had a problem with the front-end set-up on my spare bike, I kept losing it, so I wasn’t confident to push any harder. I was doing good times at the start of the session and making progress with the set-up but the spare had different settings, so I didn’t have a lot luck. I have a very good race set-up on my race bike but we still have to check tyre life for the race distance, that’s a bit of a worry at the moment. But overall I’m really happy with the weekend so far.”
• LUCIO: “The team has worked hard to find a very good race set-up but unfortunately this afternoon we did not have the perfect qualifying set-up. On his spare bike after the crash Casey complained about the front-end stability, especially with the soft rear qualifying tyres. But Casey was also fast in the rain yesterday, and in dry practice this morning, so we are looking forward to the race.”
  

		FRIDAY	MAY 12, 2006
	POS	RIDER	BIKE	TIME	GAP
	1	Valentino Rossi	Camel Yamaha Team	2:9.393	0
	2	Loris Capirossi	Ducati Marlboro Team		0.355
	3	John Hopkins	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP		0.614
	4	Sete Gibernau	Ducati Marlboro Team
	5	Nicky Hayden	Repsol Honda Team
	6	Marco Melandri	Fortuna Honda
	7	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team
	8	Casey Stoner	Honda LCR
	9	Makoto Tamada	Konica Minolta Honda
	10	Randy de Puniet	Kawasaki Racing Team

YAMAHA FRIDAY REPORT     (TOP OF PAGE)

• MotoGP : Rossi floats back to the top at wet Shanghai; Temp: 17ºC ; Weather: Wet
• Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top of the MotoGP time sheets today as hard work during practice and testing following the last round at Istanbul began to bear fruit on the opening day of the Grand Prix of China. In soaking conditions caused by a steady downpour of fine rain throughout the day, Rossi repeated the form that saw him take a wet victory at the Shanghai circuit last season with the fastest times in both today's free practice sessions.
• After setting the pace by just 0.002 seconds from Casey Stoner (Honda) in the morning, the Italian moved up a gear in the afternoon to improve his time by almost three seconds, holding off the challenge of Loris Capirossi (Ducati) by 0.355 seconds with an exemplary display of wet-weather riding. Meanwhile, his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also reported improved feeling with his YZR-M1 machine following positive progress during the Turkish test session, although the American was struggled to turn that into outright pace this afternoon.
• Valentino Rossi (1st; 2'09.393, 36 laps) "In Turkey we were able to understand some of the problems we were having with the bike and we found some good solutions. The modifications we made using that data here this morning were really good and now I can ride the bike at 100%. Even though it was wet the grip levels were very good, I was able to get a lot of lean angle in the corners and it was really good fun to ride as I want to. I'm really happy because I was fastest in both free practices today and this is a good sign for the weekend. The bike is working well in the wet but I think the solutions we have found for the setting will also work in the dry. Hopefully we will get the chance to find out tomorrow because the worst scenario would be to have another day of wet practice and then a dry race on Sunday."
• Colin Edwards (13th; 2'11.838, 24 laps) "I'm reasonably happy with today. We did some good work on the setting of the bike but when we got it to where I wanted to push for a good time we had a minor setback with the tyre and I had to go for a different compound, which didn't quite work out. The main thing is that I'm comfortable with the bike and I'm confident I can go much quicker tomorrow whether it's wet or dry. We basically started out with the dry setting we found in Turkey and made small adaptations for the wet conditions here. We found a really good suspension solution at the end so now we just need to put the whole package together with the right tyres tomorrow and run with it."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "That was a very good session, especially after the problems we had in Istanbul. The engineers made some good steps with the setting and, thanks to their good work at the test in Turkey, Valentino was able to be fast again today. Watching him ride to the best of his ability is always very enjoyable and the situation here is clearly very different to what we found when it rained in Turkey. As far as Colin is concerned his lap time today does not reflect his true potential here. He has found a good setting and, although he couldn't finish the session off as he would have liked, there is a lot more to come from him. We have started off well at other races this year and not ended up with the right result so we have to make sure this good work continues right through until Sunday afternoon."
• Rain dampens proceedings for Tech 3 Yamaha Team Although the rain overshadowed proceedings, the conditions gave the Tech 3 Yamaha Team an excellent chance to continue testing the ever improving range of Dunlop wet weather tyres. Both riders tested many different combinations of tyres during the two, one-hour practice sessions and recorded valuable data should the showers continue for the remainder of the weekend with Carlos Checa and James Ellison in 16th and17th positions respectively.
• Carlos Checa (16th, 2'14.914, 36 laps) "It has been a busy day testing tyres and these wet conditions have given us a perfect chance to find a direction to head with the amount of wet-weather tyres Dunlop has for us. But it's what we have to do to continue and hope we can improve further soon. I am not very happy as I'm five seconds off but that is what happens sometimes when we are testing at the same time as trying to find a setup. Now we have to find the tyre to settle on should these conditions continue over the weekend".
• James Ellison (17th. 2'15.880, 36 laps) "From this morning we made some adjustments by lowering the bike and softening the bike right off and it worked well as the lap times started to come down. We tried a few different tyres during the session and the last tyre we tried was pretty good. Carlos liked it as well so we have something to work on in the morning but we just have to find a way of generating more heat in the side of the tyre which is the problem we're having. Once we do that we should be in much better position. Testing during a meeting is a bit hard but at the end of the day that is what we are here for".
• Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Although the positions of Carlos and James are not the best, we are quite satisfied with the work that has been done today because again, we have done a few hours in the rain and they both have been through a lot of different tyres. "It's a tough job but this is "year one" with Dunlop in MotoGP with a factory bike and they have a lot to learn and a lot to understand to catch up to the other brands. We have to go through this testing program - that is something we have to do - and not everything we test is always suitable. But this is our mission and we have to continue. I'd like to thank my riders - especially Carlos - for the good job he is doing. Hopefully, by the end of the season, with all the tyre testing we do during a Grand Prix, we will be a lot closer. The target is to be a pretty competitive in 2007 but we're not going to catch up with the other two immediately."

RACE PREVIEW (TOP OF PAGE)

YAMAHA PREVIEW

• Camel Yamaha Team follows express route to the orient
  
  Shanghai, China 9/5/2006
• The whirlwind start to the 2006 MotoGP World Championship continues next weekend as the paddock's globetrotting journey heads eastwards across Asia to the Shanghai International Circuit in China. After visiting Spain, Qatar and Turkey in the opening three rounds of the series, the Camel Yamaha Team take their points quest back to the skies for another 'flyaway' race, before returning to start a European road trip that covers seven races in nine weeks - starting at the Le Mans circuit in France only seven days after the Chinese event.
• Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards arrive in the country known locally as 'The Big Land' with a mixed bag of results under their arms after an unpredictable start to the campaign. Rossi followed up a first-corner fall at Jerez with victory in Doha before battling to fourth place in Istanbul after a weekend dogged by technical difficulties and bad weather. It has been a similar story for his Texan team-mate, who has shown excellent pace in practice but has yet to find a set-up package that will enable him to compete for race victories and podiums.
• The Shanghai circuit was designed by architects Hermann Tilke and Peter Wahl and its layout was inspired by the shape of the Chinese character 'shang', which stands for 'high' or 'above'. Other symbols represented in the architecture of the circuit facilities originate from Chinese history, such as the team buildings, which are arranged like pavilions on a lake to resemble the ancient Yuyan-Garden in Shanghai. One of the circuit's most impressive features is the extraordinary main grandstand, which holds capacity for 29,000 spectators and provides a spectacular view of almost 80 percent of the circuit.
• Valentino Rossi: Tight and technical
  After taking a surprise wet-weather victory at this circuit last season, Valentino Rossi is hoping for an identical result in different conditions this time around. The torrential rain that fell during the inaugural event at Shanghai one year ago set the scene for one of the most impressive performances of Rossi's career but, given the choice, the World Champion is hoping for a much more straightforward way to demonstrate his superiority next Sunday.
• "Out of all the victories in my career, China last year was the one I least expected because of the problems we had with the bike during the weekend and with the rain on race day," explains Rossi, who became the all-time record points scorer in Grand Prix history thanks to his fourth place finish in Turkey last week - a result that outs him fifth in the championship. "It was the first time I had won in the wet on the Yamaha, so it was a special victory, but this year I would definitely prefer a dry race. The 2006 version M1 didn't work as well as we had hoped in the wet practice sessions in Turkey and we need as much dry track time as possible to get the bike setting as I like it."
• Like Turkey the Shanghai circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, but it is much more similar to the German architect's other effort at Sepang in Malaysia, with tight bends and long straights that, according to Rossi, make the rider's skill in setting the bike up even more important. "My first impressions of the circuit last year were very good but then it wasn't as much fun as I expected," explains the Italian. "It is actually quite tight and technical and is very much a Formula 1 track, so all the riders have a lot of hard work to do finding the right setting for the bikes. It is not ideal for MotoGP - it is a very demanding circuit and it will test the riders and the bikes to the maximum."
• Colin Edwards: Expect the unexpected
  Colin Edwards says he is unsure about what to expect in China after experiencing such mixed fortunes at each of the opening three rounds this season. Like his team-mate, the American is hoping for favourable circumstances from the opening practice in order to gather crucial set-up data for the 2006 version YZR-M1 machine.
• "Because we had so little dry time at Shanghai last year I think there is a big question mark for everybody about what is going to happen," says Edwards, who currently lies ninth in the championship on 19 points. "It will be important to find a good setting for the bike as quickly as possible so that we can get some endurance testing in before the race and make sure we don't have the problems we've struggled with in previous weekends. This is a very important Grand Prix for us and we simply have to end it with a decent result before the championship heads back to Europe.
• "The test at Istanbul on Monday was quite beneficial because it gave us an idea of the lap times we could have done in the race if we weren't interrupted by the rain on Saturday, which was encouraging, although it didn't win us any points back! We got a lot of laps in, which is what we need right now, so the engineers have some good data to work on over the next week before the race and I'm confident they can come up with something for us in China."
• Davide Brivio: Positive thinking
  Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is looking towards the Grand Prix in China as a major opportunity to turn around the team's early-season fortunes. Having enjoyed a particularly fruitful weekend in Shanghai at this stage last season, the Italian is hoping the event can prove to be a turning point for the team at the start of a critical phase of the championship.
• "Last year's race in China was very important for us because we won, and won well, in the wet and this helped us to find the solutions to some problems we had with the dry setting, so we are hoping it can be the same this time," says Brivio. "It has been a difficult start to the season but despite the bad luck of Valentino's crash in the first round at Jerez he is still very close to the top. We're looking forward to seeing what both he and Colin are capable of when the problems are solved and hopefully that can start in China.
• "Now we have eight races in eleven weekends, which is a lot and puts pressure on everybody. For example our drivers will be going straight from China to pick up the trucks and driving them to France without a break, but I think it is worse for the riders because they have no time to rest. In any case the next three months are the core of the season and a period where the situation regarding the championship becomes much clearer. The conditions are the same for everybody so we have to make sure we work to the best of our abilities and come through with a good share of the points."
• Technically speaking: Colin Edwards' suspension technician Robert Gronlund
  Despite being drawn by the same hand as the Istanbul Circuit in Turkey, Shanghai has different characteristics that bring to mind closer comparisons with the other Herman Tilke circuit of Sepang. Combining fast straights and hard braking zones with a series of slow and difficult corners, bike set-up is again a question of finding a compromised balance, whilst the big unknown this weekend will be the conditions - with last year's mixed bag of weather and the typically hot and humid climate making grip levels a complete mystery until Friday morning practice.
• "In some ways Shanghai is similar to Turkey but in other ways it is very different," explains Robert Gronlund, Colin Edwards' Ohlins suspension technician. "For instance, it doesn't flow as much as that track but it does have a mixture of fast corners and very hard braking zones, so in terms of the set-up the key is again to have a good compromise - especially with the suspension. The bike needs to turn well into the slow corners because, like with the final section in Turkey, you can lose a lot of time there.
• "The thing about Shanghai is that we have only been once and it was sometimes wet and sometimes dry, so we have a very limited amount of data. Really we're not worried about that though because we feel we made an important step during the test in Turkey. We have reduced the vibration problems we had at Jerez and Qatar and found a solution to the difficulties we had at Istanbul - just generally making the bike easier to ride. A lot will depend on the grip levels at Shanghai and it certainly won't be easy, but we are looking forward to it."

HONDA PREVIEW    (TOP OF PAGE)

• As the countdown to the second Grand Prix of China begins, there can be little doubt that Honda’s brave decision to let youthful talent shine is paying dividends. Going into the fourth Grand Prix of the year, five Honda riders are among the top seven points scorers so far in the premier MotoGP class.
• Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V), the ‘veteran’ among them at 24 years of age, heads the overall points table. Now in his fourth season on an RC211V, the American is showing enough consistency to head the standings by one point from Loris Capirossi (Ducati), even though he is yet to win a race in 2006.
• His three podiums so far in 2006 have netted him 52 points and if his current riding form is anything to go by, the Kentucky Kid must be an early favourite for the top step of the rostrum here in Shanghai.
• But he is being pressed hard by Honda’s ‘middle-ranking’ riders (in terms of seniority). At just 23 Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) has recaptured the form that saw him win the final two races of 2005 and his win two weeks ago in Turkey will have boosted his confidence coming here.
• Marco finished third in China last season and the Italian, who currently lies third overall in the points tally, knows that a win here could potentially catapult him to the top of the table. His 23-year-old team-mate Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) rode brilliantly here in the wet last year and will be a man to watch.
• Which leaves the two 20-year-old rookies Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) and Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) who have set the grid alight this year. Both graduated from the 250cc class and neither wasted any time in getting down to business at the sharp end of the field.
• Triple World Champion Dani (125cc in 2003 and two 250 titles, 2004 and 2005) finished second in his first ever MotoGP contest and but for a late race tumble in Turkey might have finished on the podium again. The Spanish star will surely figure at the front here too.
• His rookie rival Stoner has shown precocious form too. The young Australian qualified on pole in only his second MotoGP race and then finished second to Melandri in Turkey. He also won here on a 250 machine last year and knows how to tackle this track.
• The Shanghai International Circuit is situated 40km outside Shanghai and was designed by Hermann Tilke, also responsible for Istanbul Park in Turkey. Shanghai may not be quite as challenging as Istanbul Park, but it makes its own particular set of demands on riders.
• At 5.281km in length it is among the longer tracks and at 14.4m wide the tarmac leaves plenty of room for imagination when taking racing lines on entry and exit to the 14 turns, seven of which are lefts and seven right-hand corners.
• The main straight is the longest in MotoGP at 1175m and this puts a premium on top speed. But acceleration out of the many tight turns is equally vital, as well as stability under the exceptionally heavy braking on the entries. Couple this with two turns that double back on themselves at almost 360 degrees and here is a track that requires the utmost work in set-up.
• Nicky, who finished ninth here last year, said, “The last race at Turkey was fun but it’s no secret that I want to be winning races. The surface at Shanghai is pretty good and the long right-hander heading onto the back straightaway is probably my favourite part. And that straight goes on for days, even at 200mph. Then you hit the hardest braking zone on the circuit for the slow corner at the end of the back straight. It’s a pretty weak corner on a MotoGP bike – you just have to brake, brake, brake and brake a bit more.”
• Nicky’s team-mate Dani said, “Last year in China I didn’t enjoy it so much because I don’t really like the track. I was quick in the dry and was second on the grid, but the race was wet and it was not great result for me. This year with the Honda MotoGP bike it will be different, and I will once again be learning how to ride the track on this bike.”
• For Marco Melandri, this race is a great opportunity. “I’m going to China feeling fully charged after that great win in Istanbul,” he said. “In 2005 I was fast here in the dry during practice and also in the wet during the race. So I’m feeling relaxed, I feel good and I know that we’ll be starting out with a good base set-up. I’m ready for another evenly contested race.
  The front straight is really long and it should be good fun to watch.”
• His team-mate Tony Elias said, “In 2005 Shanghai was completely new but this time I’m approaching it in a different way. I really like the bike, I know we have a good base set-up and I hope I can put the experience I have gained over these first few races into good use and come out with a good result.”
• Stoner said, “I really enjoyed Shanghai last year but I’m told that on a MotoGP bike the track feels quite tight and twisty. I think I can have a good race in Shanghai because we now have a good base to work with on the Honda RCV, and my team is doing a very good job setting-up the bike. It would be nice to have a result similar to Turkey where I was one of the fastest riders on worn tyres at the end of the race. But I have to be realistic and just keep working hard.”
• Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) is typically making every effort to find the form that made him such a force in 2004 and the doughty Japanese said, “We are still working as hard as ever to improve grip and the team will give everything to help me here, as they always do.”
• Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) will use this race to make more progress with the team’s Honda-engined project and the former World Champion believes the RC211V power-plant gives him an edge he has not previously enjoyed in the class. “We’ll be able to make more chassis changes at Le Mans which should really let us exploit the power we have. And we’ll do what we can here too for now.”
• In the 250cc class Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) is the man to catch as he leads World Championship rival Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) by two points going into this round. But he has yet to win a race in this class and he’ll be looking to go one better than his second place here last year.
• Dovi said, “I’m happy in China. I like the Shanghai circuit and it suits my riding style. Last year I was second in wet conditions. This circuit has a long straight that makes a real difference in terms of engine performance with my rivals. Anyway, after three podiums my goal now is a victory. I just need to be able to take full advantage of my bike during the last three laps to make the difference.”
• His team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) said, “Last year it was my debut in the World Championship and I struggled a bit to get the right feeling with the bike and I had problems with the rain. This year, though, I feel much better on my Honda and now I am able to push harder and take full advantage of the machine. Now, I have found the right set-up I know I can take more steps forward and maybe finish on the podium at Shanghai.”
• Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW) said, “It’s a complicated circuit, just like the one in Turkey. There’s still a lot to improve with the bike, but this circuit is a bit slower than Turkey so I think that’ll be better for the Hondas. When there are long straights we always lose some ground to the Aprilias. We have to work to see if we can have a more competitive bike.”
• Porto’s team-mate Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) is still punishing himself for his mistake in Turkey when he skittle Lorenzo. “I can’t stop thinking about what happened in Turkey. I know that I made a big mistake and I’m really sorry for what happened, especially for Lorenzo because I threw him off the bike with my crash. I’m really looking forward to the start of the Chinese Grand Prix in order to leave the Istanbul incident behind.”
• Honda’s 125cc contenders include reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) who was fourth here last year and is doing his utmost to get his 2006 title defence on track. "We are improving, the bike is getting better at each race and now we go to China hoping we have made another step forward.”
• Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) was third here in 2006. He said, “I’m very happy as we’ve been able to fix the settings of the bike so I can lap at a steady pace. I am positive about China, because in Turkey I finished only 10 seconds down on the winner with a rear suspension problem. And I have good memories of Shanghai from finishing third here last year!”

• This weekend's Grand Prix of China in Shanghai marks the start of a frantically busy period for the Kawasaki Racing Team, as they prepare for a run of eight races in just eleven weeks.
• The 5.45 km Shanghai circuit is the most modern motorsport facility in the world and, at some 1200 metres in length, features the longest straight on the MotoGP calendar. The riders hit speeds in excess of 320 km/h on the straight, before getting hard on the brakes for the 60 km/h, first gear hairpin at Turn 13.
• This is a critical point in the lap, where late braking can easily secure an improvement in position, but can just as easily lead to an off- track excursion into the run-off area at the end of the straight. It's a unique challenge that is unrivalled at any other circuit.
• Shanghai holds mixed memories for the Kawasaki Racing Team. Shinya Nakano was left frustrated after being forced to retire from last year's inaugural Chinese Grand Prix just two laps into the race, due to an electrical problem on his Ninja ZX-RR.
• But while Nakano's retirement was disappointing, Olivier Jacque certainly gave the Kawasaki Racing Team something to remember. The 31- year-old Frenchman brought his Ninja ZX-RR home in second place in the rain lashed race, to give Kawasaki their best ever finish in the premier class of Grand Prix racing.
• Jacque will not race for Kawasaki this weekend, but both Nakano and Randy de Puniet arrive in Shanghai hopeful of emulating the Frenchman's performance in Sunday's 22-lap Grand Prix of China.
• Nakano has his sights set firmly on a top six finish this weekend, and is confident that the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR will give him a significant advantage through the high-speed turns where fast changes of direction are necessary.
• De Puniet has already proved his speed in the wet this season, and is confident of a strong result should rain again affect the race, but the Frenchman is determined to improve upon his position in the last race in Istanbul regardless of the prevailing conditions on Sunday.
• Shinya Nakano: #56 "This is something of a special circuit because of the long straight and the long, fast right-hand turn that leads onto it. The strange thing about the straight is that it feels really slow when you ride it, because it's so long and there are very few reference points. It's also hard to identify a braking marker at the end of the straight for the tight, first gear hairpin. This makes things difficult, because the entry to this corner is one of the best overtaking points on the track, but if you brake even fractionally too late then you can't turn in and you're forced to run on. It certainly makes things interesting. I enjoyed the circuit in the dry last year, but I still need to get a few more laps under my belt to find the best racing line. Last year I retired from this race with an electrical problem, but I think the high-speed corners with fast changes of direction will suit the Kawasaki, so this year I am definitely aiming for a top six finish."
• Randy de Puniet: #17 "Shanghai is not one of my favourite circuits, as I think it is more suited to car racing than motorcycle racing. Having said that, there are a few interesting sections on the track, like the long first corner. Last year I raced here on the 250cc machine, and the circuit will look very different from the seat of a MotoGP bike I'm sure. But it normally doesn't take me long to learn a circuit, so I hope we can get up to speed quite quickly during practice. It will be interesting to see what the weather is like on Sunday, because I know we can secure a good result if it is a wet race. If it stays dry then I will be pushing as hard as I can to improve upon my result in the last race in Istanbul. I am looking forward to the weekend ahead."

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