2006 MotoGP - BRITISH GP

R9, DONINGTON PARK, UK, JULY 2, 2006

• DONINGTON LAP RECORD:
  Colin Edwards (Honda), 1m 29.973s, 160.968 kph / 100.021 mph (2004)
• BEFORE RACE, V ROSSI: "It would be better to have a month now to recover but we are racers and we have to go straight to the next race, which is a pity. Anyway I hope we can improve it as much as possible so that I can ride well at Donington. For sure I won't be at full fitness, but we have five days to improve"
• POLE, PEDROSA: “I didn’t expect to have such a big gap to the rest today, and to be honest I also didn’t expect to get pole position at Donington, so it’s a nice surprise. We still have to make the final decision on the race tyres, so we’ll see how the weather conditions are and use the time in warm-up tomorrow. I’m pleased because we’ve worked really well so far this weekend, so I’d like to say thank you to my team.”

RACE RESULT    (TOP OF PAGE)

HONDA RACE REPORT - PEDROSA 1ST, MELANDRI 3RD    (TOP OF PAGE)

• Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) scored a convincing win here at Donington Park to notch his second victory in his rookie year and put himself firmly in the hunt for the World Championship. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) was second and Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) third.
• In bright sunshine, despite a vicious rain shower on the morning of the race at 7:00am, riders lined up for 30-laps of this sweeping 4.023km track. And it was Melandri from third on the grid who led into Redgate on lap one with Pedrosa on his tail and Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) up with them in third.
• As the field negotiated that crucial first lap, John Hopkins (Suzuki) relieved Stoner of third place down through the spectacular Craner Curves with his team-mate Chris Vermeulen now in fourth with Stoner fifth. Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) was demonstrating the progress made with the Honda- powered KR bike holding sixth on lap one.
• Melandri held his lead as lap two began with Pedrosa hard on his tail and Stoner working on getting past Hopkins. But Melandri and Dani showed they had the pace to leave the field as Hopkins gradually but visibly lost ground as the early order settled.
• Pedrosa was anxious to pass Marco by lap four, but his eagerness nearly got the better of him on the next lap as he lined up a pass at the Melbourne hairpin and then and wobbled wide. Dani was lucky to stay on the machine, but incredibly he was still third as lap six began.
• Dani then set a fastest lap of 1m 29.465s as he retrieved the ground he had lost. At this stage World Championship series leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V), who was circulating in seventh after a compromised qualifying performance, made an error at Foggy’s Esses in his bid to claw his way up the order and rejoined the race in 11th.
• Kenny then set a fastest lap of 1m 29.351s on lap eight as Dani blasted past Hopkins to begin working on Marco for the lead. By lap ten Kenny had disposed of Hopkins for third place and two laps later Dani had taken the lead he was never to relinquish.
• In the space of just one lap Dani, with a clear track, extended his advantage over Marco from 0.6 seconds to 1.5 seconds, setting a fastest lap of 1m 28.7s in the process. There was now only a battle for second place – Dani was long gone.
• In the closing laps Dani eased back to secure his win, but from laps 17 to
  23 Dani was circulating almost a quarter of a second faster than anyone else on track. But the three rider group of Melandri, Roberts and Stoner fighting for second were holding each other up allowing Rossi, who had gained on them, to catch them and enter the fray.
• Melandri had a huge moment at McLeans when he hit the kerb with his knee, but miraculously the Italian stayed on to stay in the running. As Rossi and Melandri slugged it out for second, Stoner and Roberts lost ground and it was left to the last lap for this dispute to be concluded.
• Marco dived past Rossi at the Foggy Esses and looked to be able to hold the advantage until he went wide at the Melbourne Hairpin allowing Rossi past again to hold second at the flag. Dani would have been blissfully unaware of all this as he took the flag 3.86 seconds ahead of Rossi, having eased off the gas in the final laps.
• Dani said, “I’m happy because this was almost the perfect weekend the team did a great job in every session. When I tried to overtake Marco I braked but I couldn’t stop the machine so I was getting closer and closer to him and he was about to turn in. I was saying, ‘please leave room!’ and luckily he did. Then I was able to get back in front. I didn’t know at that point if I could open up a gap because this class is really close, but at the end I slowed down a little bit to be careful. I think the English crowd enjoyed the race, and this British weather is really good!”
• Marco said, “That was so hard at every single point of the track. I was tired but I just told myself I had to keep going. I wasn’t happy about the first part of the race because I got a good start and then started sliding around a lot with a full tank of fuel. But in the last six laps the rear tyre got better and allowed me to get into a better rhythm. I fought hard for second, but just missed out.”
• Casey, in fourth, said, “I got a good start and then got shuffled back by the Suzuki’s. I thought I could pull it back but they tyre didn’t want to seem to kick in. I had a hard time finding enough drive. I was bit far away at the end but we’ve just got to keep going the way we are. I didn’t get a podium when I might have done, but that’s the way it goes.”
• Fifth-placed Roberts said, “I got away OK, but then the balance of the bike shifted its bias forward and then back. The flowing sections were tough and braking good and then the opposite. I really tried but didn’t want to risk not finishing here. I saw Marco hit the kerb and lose the front and he did a fantastic job saving it. This bike had a podium in it today, but I didn’t quite get it there.”
• Hayden finished seventh and said, “It’s been a tough weekend and things didn’t quite go for us here. I was coming through the field and making up some places when I made a mistake, got into the chicane bit hot and went straight on. That hurt, but I got back on the track, put my head down and clawed back a few places. We’ll regroup now, think about what didn’t go so well this weekend, and try to do better at the Sachsenring. Everyone in the team worked really hard this weekend we’ll come back strong at the next race.”
• Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) finished 11th and said, “I started the race with different settings to those I used in qualifying. My start was not so bad but I was wide in the first corner. The bike was understeering in the fast corners today but not as much as yesterday. After the opening laps I held the same position for almost the whole race."
• Former WCM rider Michel Fabrizio, standing in for the injured Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V), did not start after breaking a collar-bone in practice. Elias is expected to return to action in Germany in two weeks time.
• The World Championship now looks like this after nine of 17 rounds: Hayden 153, Pedrosa 127, Rossi 118, Melandri 114.
• Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) closed in on series leader Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) when he won the 250cc Grand Prix by an easy margin from Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) in second with Hiro Aoyama (KTM) third.
• Dovi fell on lap 17 while shadowing Lorenzo in second. But the indomitable Italian, who has now failed to reach the podium for the first time this year, managed to remount and finish in the points in sixth place.
• Lorenzo and Dovi were in a class of their own here, leading the field from the opening lap and pulling away from de Angelis and Aoyama to enjoy a six second cushion over their pursuers until Dovi’s mistake left Lorenzo a clear run to the flag.
• Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) was another rider to fall and remount in this race. The Japanese fell on lap 25 of this 27-lap encounter and managed to rejoin the race for a points finish in 13th.
• The World Championship points standings now show Dovi hanging onto his series lead with 159 points from Lorenzo in second with 158. De Angelis lies third with 111 while Hiro Aoyama and Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW), who finished seventh here today, share fourth place with
  108 points each.
• Dovi said, “I’m still leading the Championship, but it doesn’t seem worth so much now as the gap with the Aprilias is too big. Today Lorenzo was fast and I did my best to stay close to him like I’ve been doing since the beginning. If I didn’t ride this way, I wouldn’t be leading now. When I crashed out I spent a few laps getting on the pace again because the footrest was damaged and one of the handlebars wasn’t in the right position.”
• Takahashi said, “I did a good start but I struggled to get a good rhythm. The set-up of the bike wasn’t perfect and the track conditions were different from the previous two days; I think for this reason I was competitive in some parts of the circuit and less so in others. I made few mistakes and this didn’t help at all. The next race is at Sachsenring, which is a circuit I like where we can get a better result.”
• Aoyama said, “I made a good start and I was fifth behind de Angelis and my brother, but on the third lap I made a mistake, braking too late and I lost contact with them. Then I stayed with Locatelli and we lapped together almost throughout the race. When there were three laps left I pushed a bit harder to get closer to Locatelli, but I lost the front-end. It’s my fault and I’m very sorry for the team.”
• Runaway series leader Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) won the 125cc race from Mika Kallio (KTM) who snatched second from Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) at the final turn on the last lap. Bautista has now registered four wins so far this season and looks in unmatchable form at this stage of the season.
• Kallio led into turn one followed by Pasini and Bautista, but it only took three laps for the Spanish series leader to establish himself at the front with a series of fastest laps – and from then on the race was his barring any mishaps – and he made no mistakes.
• His margin of victory after 25-laps was 3.45 seconds but this is scant evidence of his domination here today. He now leads the World Championship on 185 points to Mika Kallio in second with 133. Sergio Gadea (Aprilia) lies third with 114 and Pasini fourth with 112.
• Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) finished eighth and said, “That was a hard race, a really hard race. I had a small problem with front-end chatter in three fast corners and lost time but I made up a lot for that on the brakes. I feel fine now so it proves I’m back to my best physically, only my hands are a little stiff.”
• Fifteen-year-old British rider Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) scored a 12th place finish and said, “I’m really, really happy, I scored my first points. I’d given myself the opportunity with that 13th place on the grid and everything was looking absolutely positive to do a good race. It was a tough race and it took a long time to find my pace.”
• Honda GP rider quotes:
• MotoGP:
• Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st." “I’m happy because this was almost the perfect weekend the team did a great job in every session. My start was good and then I pushed really hard and tried to get past Marco but it was not so easy. When I tried to overtake I braked but I couldn’t stop the machine so I was getting closer and closer to him and he was about to turn in. I was saying, “please leave room!” and luckily he did. Then I was able to get back in front. I didn’t know at that point if I could open up a gap because this class is really close, but at the end I slowed down a little bit to be careful. I’m really pleased with the win and I think the English crowd enjoyed the race too, and this British weather is really good! I’m not looking at the championship position because that’s not my target this year. My focus is still on getting the best performance from myself and taking profit from my opportunities.”
• Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 3rd. " Today was an incredible day! Bearing in mind my physical condition two weeks ago, I have to be very satisfied. I want to thank the Clinica Mobile for the work they did to allow me to race here in good shape. After the first few laps I could feel that my strength was going, but I made a big effort to maintain my pace. The first part of circuit was harder for me to negotiate, but as the race went on I improved on that part and the bike worked perfectly. It's a shame I lost second because of a small error on the penultimate corner, but the battle with Valentino was great and I think the fans really enjoyed the spectacle."
• Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 4th." “I was hoping for a better result but I didn’t get the job done today. I had the perfect set-up for two days until qualifying, and then again in the race the bike was not reacting the way it was in practice. When I was in front of Marco, Valentino and Kenny I couldn’t find the drive, the rear-end was spinning up. Plus I lost a little bit of fitness and I couldn’t brake as hard as normal, so I just eased off and settled for fourth. Towards the end I lost touch and I wasn’t close enough to make a pass when Marco and Valentino were fighting each other.”
• Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: “It’s been quite a tough weekend and things didn’t quite go for us here. This morning, being fastest in the warm-up in the wet was quite positive and had me hoping for rain in the race, though really we needed that 20 minutes to try a few more things out. We used a quite lot of time on Friday testing some new parts and yesterday we made some progress, though we had a little electrical problem in the afternoon.
  That’s all excuses though and the bottom line is that we didn’t get it done this weekend. I was coming through the field and making up some places when I made a mistake, got into the chicane bit hot and went straight on. That hurt, but I got back on the track, put my head down and clawed back a few places. We’ll regroup now, think about what didn’t go so well this weekend and try to do better in Sachsenring. Everyone in the team worked really hard this weekend we’ll come back strong at the next race.”
• Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 5th. "I raced with the old chassis today, the one we built after the Barcelona race, because I felt more at home on it than the new one. The start was OK and I closed on the leaders but as the race went on I had to change my style and racing lines and dropped back a bit. The front end of the bike was really good early in the race while the fuel load was heavy but it felt light when the fuel load went down. Then the rear end of the bike was working much better. When Valentino caught me I tried to stay with him for a couple of laps before he went away from me.I was under no pressure from the guys behind so I rode out the race and took the points. I have been through three bikes and a crash this weekend and I have to thank everybody in the team for what they did for me this weekend.
  When we get to Germany for the race I have to find the best machine balance on Friday if I am to get a good set up for the race. We have made so many changes and a lot of progress these last few weeks but now we have the time before the German GP to sit down and analyse everything."
• Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 11th. "We tried some different settings in the warm up today but didn't have enough time to check everything we needed to. We changed the geometry a little and the suspension to get a better balance and raced with the 16.5inch tyres we have used all weekend. So I started the race with different settings to those I used in qualifying. My start was not so bad but I ran wide in the first corner. The bike was under-steering in the fast corners today but not as much as yesterday. After the opening laps I held the same position for almost the whole race."
• Michel Fabrizio, Fortuna Honda, substitute rider for the injured Toni Elias. Did not race due to broken collarbone sustained in practice.

YAMAHA RACE REPORT - ROSSI 2ND    (TOP OF PAGE)

• MotoGP : Rossi takes sensational second at Donington
  Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi produced one of the performances of his life today as he rode through the pain of hand and ankle injuries to take a simply sensational second place in the British Grand Prix. Roared on by a partisan local crowd, who have taken the Italian to their hearts after a string of victories at this circuit, Rossi started steadily from twelfth on the grid but soon got into his rhythm and began passing riders with the flamboyance and determination that has already taken him to five consecutive MotoGP World Championship titles.
• With the series leader before today's action, Nicky Hayden (Honda), struggling to seventh place today, Rossi's incredible charge comes into sharper focus with a glance at the championship standings. With eight rounds remaining the Yamaha man trails the American by just 35 points and the destiny of the title is now back in his hands. Rossi remains in third place overall, however, after a second victory of the season for Dani Pedrosa (Honda) saw the Spaniard consolidate second spot.
• Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards also produced a determined ride as he made up four places from his qualifying position to take sixth despite also struggling to find the correct set-up for his machine during practice. The American now heads to Japan to prepare for the Suzuka 8-Hour race he will contest on 30th July, before returning for the next round of the MotoGP season at Sachsenring, Germany, two weeks from now.
• Valentino Rossi (2nd; + 3.864)
  "That was an amazing race and a very important result for me. I am in a better position as far as the points are concerned and that is more important than winning the race. To be honest after Assen I wasn't sure if it would be possible to fight for a top result here but I wanted it so much because Donington is a very special place to me and the fans give me such incredible support every year. We were really surprised that the bike didn't work on Friday but the whole team worked really hard to find the right setting and the right tyre.
  After qualifying we decided we would try some new things this morning but the wet warm-up meant we had no chance to do that so we just took a gamble with the setting and it worked. It took me eight laps to understand just how good my pace could be and from that point I realised that my goal had to be the podium. I had some hard battles along the way but when I got up to Melandri it got even harder! We had real fun and neither of us wanted to back down. He was faster than me in some places and I was faster than him in others.
  In the end it came down to the last hairpin and we both braked around 20 or 30 metres deeper than normal. We both ran wide but luckily Marco went even wider than me and I was able to get in from of him. I finished second but today it felt like a win."
• Colin Edwards (6th; + 21.710)
  "It just hasn't clicked for us this weekend and I'm really disappointed, even though sixth place brings in a few decent points. Last year everything came easily here but from the first practice it was clear that it wasn't going to be the case this time around and we never really found our way, it was as simple as that. The bike wasn't too bad for the race and I could catch other riders easily but we didn't have the set-up to get past people on the brakes. That made life really difficult and the race was a struggle from start to finish. It's been a hard few weeks but now I have a bit of a change of scenery as I will head out to Japan to prepare for the 8 hour. I hope we'll be in better position to fight at Sachsenring in a couple of week's time."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director
  "This was a very important race because despite Valentino's injury we have been able to close the gap to Nicky Hayden in the championship. Valentino said it was more like a victory and the feeling in the team is the same because of the physical condition he was in and the fact he started from so far back on the grid. There was never any doubt about Valentino's qualities but he has performed like a true World Champion over a difficult few weeks and he deserves a rest now.
  Our engineers also did a great job to put everything together in time, they have also been working hard and will enjoy a couple of days off before the next race. Now we have eight races left and 35 points to make up before Valencia."
• Under a blazing summer sun, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team continued the positive progress of the last three weeks to claim some more points with another impressive result to add to the encouraging race finishes of the previous three meetings.
• Carlos Checa fought hard throughout the race to claim 10th after 30 gruelling laps while team mate James Ellison, who was keen to impress his supporters, also picked up a few confidence-inspiring points as he finished 14th.
  With the inspiring results of the last few weeks, due in part to the improved consistency of the Dunlop tyres, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team has more than doubled its points haul from the first six races of the year.
• Carlos Checa (10th, Fastest lap 1'30.496)
  "It was a very hard race and I was pushing all the time. We changed some things from yesterday but in the warm up we couldn't test them because of the wet track. At the start of the race with the different settings it took a few laps before I could get the good feeling from the front and rear tyres but then I got the confidence to start pushing the pace. It was not easy to pass Tamada at first, but when I got the rhythm my pace was a bit faster than him and I was able to overtake him and get away. This was a good feeling for me to pass a factory Honda and then to be able to catch De Puniet and pass him as well.
  It was a question mark for me to know the endurance of the tyre because of the changed settings but basically we've been growing and learning more about the set-up with the tyres as the Dunlops improve. We must be satisfied with the result as the starting point here wasn't easy. We made good progress through the weekend and I'm happy with the job that the mechanics and the team did, as well as the performance of the Dunlop tyres. I wish, I hope and I want to keep going like this and improve overall to get even better results in the next races."
• James Ellison (14th Fastest lap 1'31.402)
  "I got a good start but after that it all went a bit downhill. We made a few changes after qualifying so we didn't get a chance to test them in the morning warm up because of the rain so as a result during the race we didn't have any grip in the rear. Once we got a bit of wear on the edge of the tyre we started dropping back which was disappointing as I was running wide everywhere. Early in the race I was in front of Carlos and I wanted to stay there to have a good fight with him but it didn't happen. On the positive side I think we have learnt a lot more about the setup that will help us in a couple of weeks with the nature of the Sachsenring track where we go to next. I was happy to have raced and finish in the points in front of the British crowd but I wish I could've done better
• Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director
  "This was another good weekend after Catalunya and Assen and for sure these three races have been the best since we started the season. Carlos had a good pace in the race. He passed Tamada on a factory Honda with Michelins and De Puniet on a factory Kawasaki with Bridgestones, which is good for us. The last 10 laps he was lapping quicker than Hopkins and Capirossi in front of him so we are happy with the consistency and durability, but definitely we have to qualify better, because the gap we have after five laps - even though we are lapping the same as the guys in front - if we are seven or eight seconds behind them, we know there is no way we can catch them in a class like MotoGP.
  I'm very happy with Carlos as he was pushing 100% from the first lap to the end. It was really good for him to beat the Honda and come back on De Puniet, who was more than five seconds away at one stage, and put him behind us. It's another top 10 finish that was almost impossible to dream of at the start of the year.
  I'm also happy to see James in the points. For sure he is little disappointed about not doing better in his home grand prix but he also had quite a stable pace but it's altogether a good result and it's a good way to end these three races in a row that have been tough for everybody. We got some good points and now Carlos is equal with Vermeulen so the championship is now halfway through and I think if we can continue the way we have been in the last few races and reduce the gap to the leaders a bit more the second part of the championship will be quite exciting."

SUZUKI RACE REPORT    (TOP OF PAGE)

• SUZUKI RACE Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins picked up yet another high scoring position at today’s GAS British Grand Prix at Donington, as he finished in the top 10 for the fourth race in succession.
• Anglo-American Hopkins got a good start from the second row of the grid and was running in a podium position early on. As the race progressed and grip was compromised in his tyres due to the high track temperatures, he had to battle hard to maintain his pace. He eventually brought his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home in eighth place – a position good enough to move him into the top 10 in the World Championship table.
• Chris Vermeulen also had a strong first half to the race and he was running with the leading pack. Unfortunately disaster struck for the rookie Australian on lap 16 when Colin Edwards tried to overtake him at the Melbourne Loop. The two riders collided and Vermeulen came off the worst as he crashed to the floor. He re-mounted and rode back to the pits for running repairs before re-joining the race. The gap between the other riders was too great, and although he gave chase he was unable to get into a point scoring position and crossed the line in 16th.
• Today’s race was watched by 68,391 spectators and they witnessed Dani Pedrosa win his second Grand Prix of the season. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now moves on to Sachsenring in Germany for round 10 of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 16th July.
• John Hopkins: “I’m pretty disappointed because I would have liked to have finished a lot higher, maybe in the top five or six. It just wasn’t on the cards today! I did everything I could and got the maximum out of all that I had today. The Suzuki was working really good and the Bridgestones had been working really well in the early laps. We had a minor difficulty and lost a lot of grip but we just kept at it and tried to pick up as many points as I could. I have got into the top 10 and my ultimate goal this year is to get up into the top five. We just need to keep doing well and firstly we need to get some good points in Germany and then I am really looking forward to my home Grand Prix in America!”
• Chris Vermeulen: “The start of the race was ok, I knew I had a hard race tyre and I was quite comfortable where I was in the pack. Colin went past me and he went a little deep so I tried to go up the inside of him but he turned the bike back in and I had nowhere to go. I went over and bent the handlebar into the frame so I had to come into the garage and get the bike fixed up. We went out again and I was able ride at a reasonable pace but I had no brake adjuster and it was getting a bit difficult to ride, plus the footrest was rubbing on the chain so it wasn’t the best! We made big steps this weekend and before I crashed we were a lot closer to the leaders than we have been. We now have to take this forward to Sachsenring – a circuit I’ve never been to before – and see how we go there.”
• Paul Denning, Team Manager: “All-in-all for both riders and for Suzuki we have to say we have had a successful weekend in terms of our qualifying and the potential shown by both riders – especially John – in the first third of the race. Bridgestone will freely admit that they had an extremely difficult weekend at a track that we knew may be tough. I want to say thank-you to John for maintaining a better pace than looked possible as the tyre degradation became extreme, and thanks to Chris for getting his bike back to the pits, getting it fixed and trying to get some points.
  “We will have better days, and I run the danger of becoming boring by repeating myself, but as we keep moving forward the day will come when bike, rider and tyres match the situation and we look forward to running up front over the full race distance!”

QUALIFYING   (TOP OF PAGE)

HONDA QUALIFYING REPORT   (TOP OF PAGE)

• The MotoGP qualifying session was totally blitzed by the young man currently lying second overall in the World Championship , Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V). His 1m 27.676s lap is nearly half a second faster than second-quickest qualifier Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) could manage. Third fastest Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) is only 0.047s shy of Hopkins’ time.
• This is rookie Pedrosa’s third pole of his debut premier class season and at the halfway stage of the season the Spanish sensation has chosen a perfect moment to put his considerable talents to best use. His time is also a new pole record for the track.
• Dani’s team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) could do no better than set the 11th fastest time of this hour-long session of timed qualifying. The American is 0.833 seconds adrift of Dani’s pole time and just at a juncture when he needed a dominant performance, the Kentucky Kid has given himself substantial work to do in tomorrow’s race.
• Melandri, still recovering from the neck and shoulder injuries he sustained in that multi-bike turn one crash in Catalunya two weeks ago, must be congratulated on the sheer grit he has shown to get onto the front row here. This is the former 250cc World Champion’s first front row start of this season.
• Aussie rookie Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) put his machine on row three with a best lap of 1m 28.447s to secure the eighth fastest time here. His only front row start so far this year was his pole in Qatar. But he has proved before that a third row start has been no barrier to a podium finish. He qualified seventh in Turkey and finished second.
• Alongside Stoner is Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) astride the rapidly improving Honda V-5 powered machine. The American former World Champion is just under eight tenths shy of the pole time, but has proved before he can work his way through the field when the business of racing begins.
• Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) is clearly still struggling to recapture the race-winning form of 2004. The Japanese man qualified 14th fastest here, on a par with much of his pre-race work so far this season.
• With the World Championship so finely balanced, Loris Capirossi’s fifth-place qualifying effort could yet prove vital. The Italian, who lies third overall in the points standings, had to dig deep to even finish last week’s race in Assen and secure one point for his 15th place. Like Melandri’s here today, his was a valiant ride.
• Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), another casualty riding with wrist and foot injuries, qualified 12th, 1.132 seconds off the pole time. His injuries have now had only one week to heal, but he proved in Holland that he could still score points when hurting. He qualified 18th and took the flag in eighth place.
• Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st. "I think we did a good job today - so we need to see tomorrow if we can complete the job. The feeling on the bike is good and the race set-up is just about there too so what I need to focus on now is making a great start tomorrow - this is really important. The first few laps will be crucial too of course. I didn't expect to have such a big gap to the rest today, and to be honest I also didn't expect to get pole position at Donington, so it's a nice surprise. We still have to make the final decision on the race tyres, so we'll see how the weather conditions are and use the time in warm-up tomorrow. I'm pleased because we've worked really so far this weekend so I'd like to say thank you to my team."
• Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 3rd. "It is incredible to have set the third fastest time just two weeks after the accident. This is quite a tough circuit and it will be very difficult tomorrow. Donington requires a lot of physical effort and even though I am not at 100% I hope to finish the race and gain some points. We have to take a step forward with my own pace. In particular I need to improve my feeling with the front in the last part of the track Moreover, I can be fast for one lap but I still suffer a lot if I do more than three or four laps in a row. All in all, considering the pain I am in it was a very good result today."
• Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 8th. "I did my quickest time on race tyres, and worn race tyres at that. So I'm a little frustrated to be starting this far back on the grid, I should be closer to the front. Unfortunately the qualifying tyres were not making the bike react the way I wanted. It seems that the better the race set up I have the worse the bike feels on grippy qualifying tyres. My set up is very good and I'll have to figure out where my strong points are compared to the other riders once the race starts."
• Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 9th. "This weekend in qualifying I picked up four-tenths of a second on qualifying tyres and I need to improve on that.
  But with the new chassis we understand more about the imbalance of the bike on qualifiers than we di before. On race tyres I feel really good and the lap times are fast. I need to get off the line better and get to the front guys early in the race. I should have more chance to pass here than I did at Assen. The team has done a great job to get the chassis finished off in time for me to race it here. I caused them a little extra work when I crashed this morning but they gave me a good bike for qualifying so thanks to team again."
• Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 11th. "Well, on the positive side I'm only three tenths from the front row, though obviously I'm not thrilled with how qualifying went today. We had some electrical problems at the start of the session which cost me quite a lot of time but that's just the way it goes in racing sometimes. We'll put our heads together and try to get an awesome start tomorrow and recover some places quickly. I'm having a few issues in
  T4 at the end of the lap, getting quite a lot of wheelying and losing some time there, so we'll come up with something to work on that. Tomorrow's the important day and I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge. We had some kids here from the Make A Wish Foundation today and it was really nice to meet those guys too."
• Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 14th. "I lost the front end at the very end of the qualifying session, going into the last slow corner, the front end turned in and I crashed. We have been using the 16.5 inch tyres at Donington, basically because Michelin don't have the 16 in available in many compounds and the asphalt here is completely different to Assen."

YAMAHA QUALIFYING REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• Camel Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will both start from the fourth row of the grid in tomorrow's British Grand Prix, after running into set-up problems during the second day of practice at Donington Park. Whilst Rossi continued to ride through the pain from the ankle and wrist injuries he sustained at Assen nine days ago, he also struggled to adapt his machine to the demands of the British track, where he has taken victory for five of the last six seasons.
• Edwards was equally baffled by the lack of progress he made today after making positive initial steps yesterday. The base setting of the YZR-M1 machine has adapted swiftly to the fast and flowing nature of recent circuits such as Assen and Catalunya, but with only the morning warm-up remaining before tomorrow's 30-lap race the team still have plenty of room for improvement. A small consolation for Rossi was that Nicky Hayden (Honda), the current series leader, was also unable to challenge for a top grid position and will start in between the Yamaha pair on the fourth row in 11th spot.
• COLIN EDWARDS (10th , 1'28.481; 30 laps) "The bike is really not working as well as we would like and to be perfectly honest we're not sure why. The things that worked so well last weekend don't seem to be having the same effect here and we're struggling to come up with an alternative at the moment. It's not for a lack of trying because my crew have worked really hard all day , we played about with the springs and the ride height but kept running down a blind alley. This is one of my favourite tracks and I'm used to turning up here and being in the top three from the first session , like I have for the past two years. In theory it should have been the same today but it's just not happening. Now we have to hope we can find something good in the morning, make a great start and just fight our way through!"
• VALENTINO ROSSI (12th , 1'28.808; 28 laps) "We didn't expect to have so many problems here in Donington because last year our bike worked really well. It's a track where I've always been able to be really fast and go very well from the start, so it's quite disappointing. The situation with the wrist isn't so bad, but I've got some problems in the hard braking areas. For sure I can't ride how I would like to; we're not at the maximum. We've been quite confident because, since the new chassis in Le Mans, the bike has worked very well and been fast from the start, but here we can't find a good setting for some reason. Tomorrow we will try to find a way to make the situation a little better. Today with Dr Costa I decided to try with some painkillers, to understand better what we need to do for the race tomorrow. With these painkillers it seems I can ride more or less normally. Tomorrow me and my team will try to find the best possible setting to enable me to ride a good race and I will also do some more work with Dr Costa after warm-up in order to be in the best possible shape to ride."
• DAVIDE BRIVIO , CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR "It is a strange grid because nobody expects to see Colin, Valentino and Nicky all together on the fourth row. For sure the starting position will be the first problem for our riders to overcome tomorrow. I think with Colin has shown that he has the possibility to run a good race pace if we can just refine the setting a little more, and for Valentino we need to analyse things tonight and see if we can make it a little more comfortable - especially for his wrist. Today he was feeling stronger but he is clearly not at 100% yet so we will have to wait and see how he is tomorrow. But his problem is not just the injury , the bike setting is not where it should be yet and we are still unclear about the tyre choice for the race."

HONDA FRIDAY REPORT   (TOP OF PAGE)

• The British Grand Prix weekend began today at Donington Park with Repsol Honda’s star rookie Dani Pedrosa setting the pace during both free practice sessions. The 20-year-old Spaniard, who now lives in London, was quickly on the pace at the sweeping 4.023km (2.500 miles) circuit in the heart of the English midlands, despite riding the challenging track for the first time on a MotoGP bike.
• The reigning 250cc world champion was especially impressive in the afternoon where he recorded the three fastest laps of the one-hour session, setting a best lap of 1m 28.970s , over a second inside the existing lap record. Showing impressive consistency, Pedrosa was the only rider to dip into the 1m 28s bracket.
• Nicky Hayden finished a tight session just 0.587s behind his team-mate after continuing the development work on his evolution RC211V, including testing a new chassis. The 24-year-old American comes into the weekend with a 42-point lead in the riders’ world championship and full of confidence after his spectacular win in Assen last weekend where notched up his first victory of 2006.
• In an extremely close day of MotoGP practice the top 13 riders were covered by less than a second which should make for an exciting qualifying session tomorrow afternoon.
• Nicky Hayden 9th , 1m 29.557s
  “We were trying a new chassis today and we were testing a few different things on each bike. One felt a lot better on the front and the other felt better on the rear, so hopefully tomorrow we can combine the settings and we’ll be a lot closer. We closed the gap from this morning’s session which is good, though we haven’t started off the first day as fast as we’d have liked again so we’ve still got some work to do here. It’s not that easy though , it’s always a compromise so we’ll come in here tomorrow and try to make a big step. Half a second is quite a lot, and qualifying tomorrow is going to be really important, so we’ll see what we do.”
• Dani Pedrosa 1st , 1m 28.970s
  “It went pretty well today and we had a good day of practice. The weather was good, it was warm and the Michelins were working well so I’m happy with how it’s gone. I’m at the top of the times today but I’m not reading too much into this yet. Tomorrow will be important because we’ll learn more about the race tyre choice and we also need to do a good job in qualifying because the times at this track are so close , this is going to be critical for a good race. It’s my first time on a MotoGP at Donington and the RC211V feels very powerful here, especially on the last part of the track. Plus we spend a lot of time braking which is hard for the shoulders and arms , it’s pretty tiring. Still, I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
• Makoto Tanaka - Team Manager
  “Thankfully it’s very good weather and we had a very good start with good conditions. In both sessions Dani made good progress with his set-up and he looks strong for this weekend. He put in his best times at the end of his long runs so I think he has a very good feeling. He can continue to make progress tomorrow. Nicky tried a new chassis today and therefore has more things to test than usual. If you only look at the timesheets then he’s not right at the top, but the progress is not bad today and I’m sure he can set a good time tomorrow. I’m confident because Nicky is really showing his ability. Last year Honda had a very difficult race here, so this year’s good start means we’re definitely looking forward to the race.”
• Fortuna Honda
• FORTUNA HONDA rider Marco Melandri was in good form on the first day of practice for the British Grand Prix Donington Park. The Italian, who lives close to the circuit, showed determined focus from the start of the morning session and was consistently fast throughout. In the first free practice Melandri set a best time of 1’29.480 with a consistent pace throughout the session, whilst in the afternoon he stopped the clock at 1’29.196. His team-mate Michel Fabrizio, standing in for the injured Toni Elías , ended the session in fifteenth place. The Superbike regular made the most of the two hour-long sessions to get used to the peculiarities of the Honda RC211V machine.
• MARCO MELANDRI (4th, 1’29”196°):
  “I’m happy because despite still suffering from injuries I picked up in Barcelona I have been fast. I’m suffering but the pain is now limited to the right side of my body , the collarbone, arm and wrist. Since Assen the pain has actually got worse and the characteristics of this track don’t help. I’m really finding it hard in the strong braking zones. I also broke my right hand here two years ago and it still hurts so despite all that I am happy with my performance. The bike is working well and tomorrow I’ll try and reserve some energy for Sunday’s race.”
• MICHEL FABRIZIO (16th, 1’30”762):
  “I am very satisfied after the first day of practice. I took things easy and just got to know the bike and the way it behaves. I really enjoyed riding the fast part of the track and to do it on a bike like this is an incredible feeling.”
• Konica Minolta Honda
• The first day’s practice was quite satisfying for the KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team at the Donington circuit in England.
• The riders have been greeted by a summer weather characterized by an intense heat from the early morning hours. In the afternoon, the ground reached the 45°, rare temperature for this circuit.
• Makoto Tamada ended the second free practice session in tenth position with a 1’29.806” lap, eleventh best lap time in today’s combined classification.
• KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team rider is less than a second behind the fastest time and demonstrated to be confident of improvements tomorrow.
• Gianluca Montiron , KONICA MINOLTA Honda General Director
  “We are in tenth position in this afternoon free practice classification, but the gap from the fastest rider is reduced to eight tenths of second. We started this race week end from a satisfying point. At the moment, we must find the way to reduce the gap from the leaders. We are determined in achieving, at all costs, a positive turning point in this phase of the championship. Tomorrow, as usual, the team will try to support, in the best possible way, Makoto from the technical point of view to grant him a decisive step ahead in view of Sunday’s race.”
• Makoto Tamada , KONICA MINOLTA Honda Rider (11° - 1'29.806")
  “Today I’m quite happy because the setting modifications done after the first free practice hour, this afternoon my feeling was better and I could easily turn on the 1’29” pace. Tomorrow, we will be able to focus on tyres tests to make the best choice for the race. The rear tyre, in particular, will have to be evaluated very well as today was very hot and high temperatures are expected for the entire week end.”

SUZUKI FRIDAY REPORT

• Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins powered his Suzuki GSV-R to second place on the leaderboard after the first day’s practice for the GAS British Grand Prix at Donington today.
• Anglo-American Hopkins (1’29.025, 59 laps) followed on from his good showing at Assen last weekend , where he recorded his first pole- position , and recorded consistently fast times throughout today’s two sessions. He worked hard with his crew to get the best out of his bike and is sure that he can improve on his race potential tomorrow.
• Chris Vermeulen (P12, 1’30.799, 58 laps) used both sessions to re-acquaint himself with the Donington circuit , a track he hasn’t ridden at since 2001 , and concentrated on dialling in the best suspension set-up in preparation for Sunday and worked on finding the correct Bridgestone tyres for the 30 lap race.
• Today’s sessions were held in dry and warm conditions with track surface temperatures hitting 44°C in the afternoon. Today’s fastest time was set by Spaniard Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has one more practice session on Saturday morning followed by an hour’s qualifying in the afternoon. Round nine of the MotoGP World Championship gets underway at 13.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 2nd July.
• John Hopkins: “It was a good session. We are trying to get the best tyre that we can for Sunday and working well with Bridgestone to come up with the best solution. The bike is coming along really well and the guys are working very hard and all in all everything seems good at the moment. We still have a few things to work on tomorrow to get a better level of consistency but we are really looking forward to the challenge and I’m sure it’s going to be fun!”
• Chris Vermeulen: “It’s good to come back to Donington. It’s been about five years since I was last here and the track seems a lot tighter on a GP bike than it did on a Supersport 600 back then - things seem to rush up quite a bit quicker! We tried some different things with chassis settings today as I have struggled a bit with front grip durability at the last two races. It seems to be working well as we went quite a bit quicker this afternoon than we did this morning , which is good. We are working hard with Bridgestone on the tyres and we have a few things extra to try tomorrow and hopefully we can go quicker again.”
• Paul Denning , Team Manager: “It’s been a good strong start to the first day of the British Grand Prix. John has put in consistently fast laps and is already showing that he could be a force to be reckoned with here this weekend. The GSV-R is basically working well , it’s certainly capable of a very good lap- time , and we have to focus on improving our potential over the 30 laps on Sunday. Bridgestone and John’s crew have some clear targets to achieve this tomorrow.
• “Chris used today very much as a marker for the rest of the weekend. He set out to learn the lines and focus on riding a Grand Prix bike around this circuit. He is less than a second off today’s fastest time and I’m sure that he has quite a bit still to find tomorrow when he gets the best feel from his bike. We are reasonably confident of a good result here and the whole team is certainly working towards that goal!”

PREVIEW   (TOP OF PAGE)

YAMAHA BRITISH GP PREVIEW

• The Camel Yamaha Team head for the third race in as many weekends looking to end a gruelling run of races on a high as the MotoGP World Championship arrives in Great Britain this weekend. Following on from the elation of victory at Catalunya and the double disappointment of an injury for Valentino Rossi and a final-bend crash for Colin Edwards at Assen, the Donington Park race represents an ideal opportunity for both riders to bounce back before a well earned two-week break.
• Rossi, in particular, is in desperate need of a boost after conceding further ground to Nicky Hayden (Honda) at the top of the World Championship standings. The Italian fought bravely to eighth place despite riding with cracked bones in his hand and foot at the Dutch TT, but crucially he now trails the American by 46 points in the championship. Rossi has won seven times in all classes at Donington Park, one of his favourite MotoGP circuits, but a return to the top step of the podium will be a huge challenge as he battles to recover his fitness and as many points as possible.
• Edwards is sure to be given a hero's welcome by his army of British fans, thousands of whom cheered him to the verge of his first MotoGP victory just across the North Sea at Assen last Saturday. The British Grand Prix ranks equally with the Dutch TT as Edwards' most successful event in the premier-class, having finished second there two years ago and narrowly missing the podium last year, so he has high hopes that he can bounce back from that disappointment with another top performance.
• There is a slight change to the order of the races this weekend, with the main event taking place after the 250cc race but before the 125cc race. The red lights will go out for the MotoGP riders at 1pm local time, although this will not affect the regular schedule for fans around the world since it still coincides with the standard starting time of 2pm CET.
• VALENTINO ROSSI: A RACE AGAINST TIME
  MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi returns to his country of residence this weekend keeping the fingers on his good hand crossed that he will be in sufficiently good shape to challenge at the front of the field once again. The Italian left Assen on Saturday evening with his physiotherapist Marco Montanari, who will remain by his side for the rest of the week as he tries to recover as much strength as possible before the crucial ninth round of an intriguing championship.
• "We have a lot of work to do to improve the situation with my wrist and try to reduce the swelling and heal the bone as much as possible," explains Rossi. "It would be better to have a month now to recover but we are racers and we have to go straight to the next race, which is a pity. Anyway I hope we can improve it as much as possible so that I can ride well at Donington. For sure I won't be at full fitness, but we have five days to improve. Colin showed that the bike is working really well so hopefully it will be like this at Donington also for both of us.
• "Donington is like a second home Grand Prix for me and I hope the fans give me all the usual support because I need all the help I can get right now. It has been one of my favourite tracks ever since I rode the 125 there for the first time in 1996 and I have a lot of good memories - especially my first win with the 500 in 2001 and victories with Yamaha for the last two years. It's going to be a big challenge for me to stand on the top of the podium on Sunday, but as long as my hand continues to improve throughout the week, then I think we can try!"
• COLIN EDWARDS: A CHANCE FOR REVENGE
  The British Grand Prix can't come soon enough for Colin Edwards, who heads to another of his favourite tracks looking to bury his Assen nightmare with that elusive first MotoGP win. The amiable American refuses to dwell on the final corner calamity that denied him a visit to the top step of the podium in Holland as he looks on the positive side of a weekend that should provide the platform to another bid for the winners' champagne in England.
• "I can't deny that I'm still disappointed after what happened at Assen, but now I have to put that behind me and focus on Donington, which is one of my best tracks and a place I have always gone well," says Edwards. "I have to forget about what happened at the end of the race in Assen and focus on the fact that my bike worked perfectly all weekend, I was consistently fast and I was able to do a really great race up to the last chicane.
• "Now we have to hope that the situation is the same at Donington because my aim is to go out there and get my revenge! I want to make up for the disappointment for the team and my fans, and give them something to cheer about again. I always have loads of fans in the UK, a lot of them were there for me at Assen so let's hope they're all back to cheer me on again this weekend."
• DAVIDE BRIVIO: A LONG BATTLE AHEAD
  Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is also in good spirits despite a weekend of drama and ultimate disappointment in Holland. The Italian knows that he could not have asked for much more from his riders on Saturday and he is confident that a similar level of effort from the whole team this weekend will finally reap the rewards they deserve.
• "Hopefully this week before Donington will be enough time for Valentino to make a decent recovery and we all hope to see him in better shape when he comes into the garage for practice on Friday morning," says Brivio. "Assen was a big disappointment for us in lots of ways but with Valentino in better shape and Colin in good form we have a chance to put things right at a circuit both riders like and in a country where they are both very popular.
• "Whatever progress Valentino makes this week we know he will not be at 100% but we expect him to show the same fight and determination that took him into the points at Assen. It was important he did that but the gap to Nicky Hayden at the top of the championship is significant and we can't afford to let him get too far ahead. He is a strong rider and I think it will be a hard push now until the final race of the season at Valencia."
• TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: DONINGTON ACCORDING TO MATTEO FLAMIGNI
  A dramatic viewing experience, Donington Park sits inside an amphitheatre style setting, with the spectator bankings ringing around the outside. The prevalent off-camber nature of the track is one of the main factors at play during the British Grand Prix, with a large tendency for the front tyre to push, making the right, left, right flick down the Craner Curve section something of a high tension rollercoaster ride. This sequence of sweeping corners is one of the fastest in the world and, according to Valentino Rossi's Data Technician Matteo Flamigni, it is a place the top riders can really make the difference.
• "I don't know of any other circuit in the world with a series of corners as fast as Craner Curves," says Flamigni. "The rider is more important than the machine here because it takes a lot of courage and skill to make up time through the first section of the track. In any case the bike setting must be stable enough to give the rider confidence at speeds of around 200km/h and agile enough to cope with the quick changes of direction.
• "Donington is like two circuits in one. After the fast opening two sections the second half of the lap is much slower because of the last section, which has two hard braking zones. Turn nine in particular is crucial because the riders go from something like 280km/h to around 60km/h, so the bike has to be good under braking - especially because these are key points to overtake at the end of the race.
  Setting up a motorcycle is always a question of making the right compromises but at Donington Park this is particularly true. The best bike out there will have the most accurate balance between performance in these two contrasting halves of the track."

HONDA RACE PREVIEW      (TOP OF PAGE)

• This season’s MotoGP title race is turning into a season of nail-biting intensity with almost as many dramatic twists and turns as the tracks that provide the stage for this 17-race rolling showdown. ‘Kentucky Kid’ Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) now heads the standings by 42 points from Spanish rookie Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) after the American’s last-gasp win at Assen last weekend.
• After Honda’s 200th premier class win last weekend, this Sunday’s race, the ninth of the year, will mark the exact mid-point of the season, with the German and American rounds still to come before the ‘summer break’.
  Donington will again shape the World Championship as trailing riders either get on terms with Hayden now, or are left with perhaps too much work to do as the season draws to a conclusion.
• Nicky has upped his game this year and at tracks where he previously placed fourth or fifth he is now on the rostrum. His consistency has been his greatest strength so far , 10 podiums in 11 races , but he knows that if he can follow up his Assen win with another victory here, he could gather a title momentum that might prove hard to stop.
• With Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) riding injured after his practice crash in Holland, without Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) not riding after his fall there, with Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) battered and sore and Loris Capirossi (Ducati) fighting the pain after the Catalunya turn one melée, this season is proving a tough one.
• Michel Fabrizio, 21-years old from Rome rider has been drafted into the Fortuna Honda team as substitute rider for the injured Toni Elias for Donington Park. Fabrizio currently rides a Honda CBR1000RR Superbike for the DFXTreme squad.
• Donington Park usually provides an eventful race, whether in the dry or in the ‘British’ weather conditions that rendered last year’s contest a dripping-wet, yet enthralling race. The track was resurfaced in 2004 and this year a new pit complex should ensure the facilities are a match for this excellent racetrack.
• Many riders have a great deal of affection for Donington Park. It’s a track that rewards competitors who relish fast, open, sweeping turns. And even if the slightly stilted Melbourne Loop section of the track spoils the rhythm and flow, it still provides drama as riders endure three bouts of heavy braking towards the end of a lap.
• But it’s the dramatic downhill fifth-gear Craner Curves that are the high point of a Donington lap. This section of the track requires bravery and inch-perfect commitment to a line and if a rider struggles to come to terms with these turns, a fast lap is but a distant hope.
• Donington demands two main machine characteristics that are hard to provide simultaneously. Stability on the brakes and quick turn-in is required for the Esses and Melbourne Loop sections while perfect high-speed manners are needed for the other parts of this 4.023km track.
• Some riders opt for stability in the knowledge that a fast lap time will be dictated by speed over the flowing first three-quarters of the track, others prefer to have a bike set up to perform well under braking where places can be won and lost on the final three turns. Good acceleration is also vital while top speed is slightly less of an issue than at other venues.
• Nicky said, “Donington is a home Grand Prix for some of my team , there’s a lot people in the Repsol Honda Team based in England , and we want to get the best possible for them. I really like the first section of the track and I’ve been quick there before. The Craner Curves really separate the men from the boys pretty quickly , you need some guts and a good set-up to get through there fast. I haven’t always been so quick in the last section with the hairpin and the chicanes, so that’s what I’ll be trying to improve this weekend.”
• His team-mate Dani said, “I’ll try to improve my overall performance at Donington because, even though third was OK at Assen, I was not so satisfied with the race. The main thing to work on for me is the beginning of the race where sometimes I’ve not been so strong. And making better use of the practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday will help with this too. Donington is not my favourite track, although they have improved the surface and made it less bumpy.”
• Melandri said, “I needed to put my feet up for a couple of days because since the Barcelona crash everything has happened really quickly: hospital, the trip to Assen, the medical checks and then the race. Now I’ve been able to relax a little and start to get back into my normal routine. Hopefully I will have recovered a lot of strength before Sunday’s race because Donington Park is a place I love. Its characteristics make it hard going on your arms, there are so many direction changes and it will really test my physical condition.”
• Elias, who will not ride here after breaking his shoulder at Assen, said, “The pain is still really strong. I hoped to have recovered already but the tests on Monday showed that it’s still too early to get back on the bike. The fracture still needs time and that’s without considering the fact that Donington is really demanding and tiring and you have to be at 100% fitness to deal with that. I am really disappointed not to be there and I hope to be back as soon as possible.”
• Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V), who finished third here on a 250 last year, said, “We had a good race package in Assen and I was racing for the podium, which is what I should be doing everywhere. The team’s doing a great for me and I’ve just got to make sure I can do the same for them. Donington gives us a great chance to do well if we keep on with the work we’re doing.”
• Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) said, “The new frame is being finished off now and we’ll have it at Donington. It’s a combination of the stuff we’ve learned so far this season and some input from Honda and the team. We’re confident this thing will work better than the chassis we have right now. We’ll be ready for Donington and we’ll see if we can’t get a good result here.”
• Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) raced to a solid fourth place at Assen and is looking forward to improving on that this time round. “Donington will be a bit like a home race for me as I raced in England when I first came over from Australia,” said the 20-year old. “Even though I finished fourth at Assen I’m not satisfied. I made a mistake on the last lap and lost third. That’s three mistakes I’ve made this year in races. More importantly I know that at Mugello I had the pace to win the race so it’s just a matter of not making a mistake and I will improve.”
• Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) said, “The changeable weather conditions of this region often determine the race result. My feeling with the RC211V is getting better. Now, I must try to be consistent in practice and during the race. In this respect, I hope to take an important step forward in England and to be fighting hard for a good result.”
• In the 250cc class ultra-consistent Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) heads the standings going into round nine. The Italian has 149 points, while Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) in second has 133. Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) in third overall has 99 points.
• The Columbian Martin Cardenas (Repsol Honda RS250RW) is expected to ride here, despite a recently broken collarbone, while Brit Chaz Davies replaces Arnaud Vincent here on the Molenaar Racing Honda RS250RW.
• Dovi said, “Our pace has always been lower than the Aprilias , except at Le Mans and Barcelona where our bike was competitive. And, for many reasons, the gap was even bigger at Assen. But I’m happy because my team is doing a great job and providing me most of the time with an excellent bike. We are going to Donington, which is a track that I like and where Honda will be more competitive.”
• “Unfortunately, at Assen I couldn’t do better than sixth,” said Dovi’s team-mate Takahashi. “I was involved in that first lap collision and I went wide. But I’m happy I was able to recover some ground and eventually score 10 important points. The next two races will take place at tracks I like very much , Donington Park and the Sachsenring. Even if I didn’t finish the British Grand Prix last year, I’m confident I can run a good race now.”
• Shuhei Aoyama can’t wait to ride here. He said, “I scored my first points of the World Championship on European soil at Donington back in 2002 in the 125cc class. It’s a circuit I like and this time I won’t have the handicap of having to learn the layout again. Unlike Assen, which I also knew, there have been no changes made to this circuit so I hope to be able to be fast from the first practice.”
• Martin Cardenas said, “I left the hospital on Monday and I’ve already started to move my arm slightly. I’m having my stitches out in one week and I hope to be at 100% again in Germany. Alberto Puig and for Repsol, but the only thing left to do now is to wait until Germany where I’ll try to make up for this incident.”
• Reigning 125cc World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) is doing all he can to claw his way back up the points ladder after a rotten start to his title defence season. The Swiss currently sits seventh with 62 points to series leader Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) who has 160.
• Luthi said, “Nowadays every track has to be your favourite because the 125cc class is so competitive. But I like Donington Park, especially the Craner Curves section , it’s really great to ride that part of the track.”
• Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) said, “I like Donington Park and at least this track has not been changed like Assen has. I hope the weather conditions won’t be like last year when it rained and I crashed out. Along with the team I’m working on the set-up of the bike in order to improve its performance both in terms of engine and suspension.”
• British hope Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) said, “After finishing 16th in the last two races the team are joking that I’m waiting for Donington for those first points. It’ll be good to ride at home although I’ve probably ridden at some of the Spanish circuits more times than Donington. However, it will be a help knowing the circuit because I still need to improve my qualifying to start the race higher up the grid.”

KAWASAKI PREVIEW      (TOP OF PAGE)

• Less than one week after Shinya Nakano claimed a career best result with second place in the Dutch TT the Kawasaki Racing Team are back in action, having crossed the North Sea from Holland to England for this weekend's British Grand Prix at Donington Park.
• The British Grand Prix marks the halfway point in this year's 17 round MotoGP World Championship, and it is an important race for both Kawasaki riders.
• Nakano heads for Donington determined to carry the momentum from his impressive Assen result into the second half of the season, but to do that he knows that he must secure another strong result around the 4.023 km Donington Park circuit this weekend.
• Nakano has finished on the 250cc podium at Donington Park in the past, but the 28-year-old Japanese rider doesn't rate the East Midlands circuit as one of his favourites, nor as a circuit that has particularly suited the characteristics of Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR in the past.
• This weekend Nakano will benefit from a new exhaust system on his Ninja ZX-RR, as well as tyres developed by Bridgestone specifically for the Donington Park circuit. Together with the advances made with set-up during the Dutch TT, these additional changes mean that the Japanese rider heads into this weekend's event confident of a strong performance.
• Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, arrives in Donington determined to kick-start what he feels has, so far, been a disappointing rookie season in the premier MotoGP class. The 25-year-old Frenchman has impressed during practice and qualifying at every round, but has been unable to translate this into strong race performances for a number of reasons.
• A good result in Sunday's 30-lap British Grand Prix would be a big confidence boost for de Puniet, and the perfect start to the second half of his rookie season.

DUCATI PREVIEW      (TOP OF PAGE)

• The 2006 MotoGP World Championship moves past half-distance at Donington Park this weekend with Loris Capirossi still third in the points chase despite the injuries he sustained in the big turn-one crash at Catalunya on June 18. Unluckily that race was the first of three back- to-back MotoGP events, so the determined Italian contested last weekend's Dutch TT with painful chest injuries, finishing the race a valiant 15th. Last Monday he underwent further chest scans and should be in better shape for Donington.
• Team-mate Sete Gibernau, who broke his left collarbone in the same accident two weeks ago, will once again be replaced by Alex Hofmann, who took 12th place at Assen in his first ride with the Ducati Marlboro Team. Gibernau's broken collarbone was plated in an operation at Barcelona's Dexeus hospital on June 20. Latest x-rays, taken on June 26, suggest that the injury is healing well, so the Spaniard is already in training and hoping to return to action at the German GP on July 14/15/16.
• LORIS CAPIROSSI, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 3rd overall, 100 points - "Last weekend was really, really tough for me, so we are hoping that Donington will be better. I rode in a lot of pain at Assen, every bump felt like the stab of a knife, even though I used pain-killers. But I have had further check-ups since then and they confirmed that I am basically okay. I am currently taking painkillers and when I get back onto the bike on Friday morning I will finally be able to see how efficient the treatment and the rest have been. I am still third overall, so the championship isn't over yet and every point could be vital at the end of the season. I am looking forward to Donington. It's a special place to me because I won my first GP there in 1990. I really love the circuit because it's a great challenge to ride it well. The important thing is having useable power delivery because there are a lot of part-throttle sections. We have made many improvements to our power delivery over the past few months so I'm looking forward to feeling the performance of the GP6 at Donington. My favourite part of the circuit is the fast, flowing section, downhill through Craner, then uphill to Coppice."
• SETE GIBERNAU, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 13th overall, 44 points - "I'm still aching but my head no longer hurts and the collarbone operation was a success. Before fixing the collarbone with a plate, the surgeons had to remove an old plate which affected my shoulder muscles. It still hurts but I am now training again. We are working in the swimming pool to get the shoulder muscles moving again and to make sure the wounds drain as quickly as possible. I want to get better quickly and get back on track with my team."
• ALEX HOFMANN, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 16th overall, 16 points - "What I learned at Assen will help me a lot at Donington. I feel more confident now because I have completed a race with this bike and tyre package, so I can start the weekend a good step ahead of where we were this time last week. I won't have to start again from zero, plus I know the track quite well, so things should improve for us. We already have some ideas to adapt the set-up to suit me better because the four hours of practice we had at Assen weren't enough to find my perfect settings. We analysed the data from the race and that will make us stronger. I usually find my way around Donington pretty well, I just hope it's not as wet as it was last year! Like any racer, I like the first part of the track but I'm not so keen on the second part. Anyway, I can't wait to get started on my second weekend aboard the factory GP6."
• THE TRACK
  Donington Park is dominated by fast, sweeping corners that crucially interlink with each other. Through these sections a fluid riding style and high corner speed are much more important than brute horsepower. But just to complicate matters, the Melbourne loop section (added in 1986 to bring the venue up to minimum GP length) features three dead-stop turns where last-gasp braking and vicious acceleration are all-important. Getting a MotoGP machine to work through these two contrasting segments requires engineers to find a compromise in chassis settings.
• Donington has hosted GPs since 1987, taking over from Silverstone, which became Britain's World Championship venue after the notorious Isle of Man TT circuit was deemed too dangerous.

SUZUKI PREVIEW   (TOP OF PAGE)

• Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has made the journey home to Donington Park in England, for the GAS British Grand Prix, with hopes high for a good result.
• The British based multi-national squad , which includes staff from the UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Ireland and the USA - will be racing in the UK for the first time since Rizla became the new title sponsors of the team and it will give the British public the first chance to see the Suzuki GSV-R adorned in the distinctive Rizla Blue.
• Donington is round nine of the MotoGP World Championship and signals not only the end of an exhausting three-week tour of Europe, but also the half-way point in the MotoGP season. The 4,023kms long circuit is set in a natural amphitheatre in the Derbyshire countryside. It has many exciting corners and curves set over its elevation changes and not many tracks have a sight to compare with the entire field roaring down Craner Curves on the first lap - possibly one of the best stretches of tarmac on the entire calendar.
• Rizla Suzuki MotoGP comes to Donington on the back of John Hopkins’ first ever pole position last weekend at Assen and a string of top 10 places for him and Chris Vermeulen , which sees the team take its points total to over double what it had at the same time last season.
• Track action will begin on Friday, as Hopkins and Vermeulen take to the circuit for two free practice sessions. Saturday will have another practice session in the morning and the all important qualifying practice - to determine grid positions for Sunday - in the afternoon. The 30 lap race will get underway at 13.00hrs local time (12.00hrsGMT) on Sunday 2nd July.
• Paul Denning , Team Manager:
  “The whole team is coming to Donington with high hopes for a successful weekend. We think that the track will suit the chassis and set-up of the GSV-R and the riders’ styles alike. Bridgestone has been working hard on development and I’m sure they will give us all the help and assistance we need to compete well, wet or dry, at Donington.
• “John and Chris both consider this to be their second home race of the season and together they will want to put on a good display for all their friends and family that will be at trackside. We will also be welcoming many sponsors and guests to Donington, and as with the riders the whole team will be trying to get the best result for all of them.”

   (TOP OF PAGE)