A run of three back-to-back races commences in Japan as the 2010 FIM MotoGP World Championship enters its final stage with Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa continuing their battle.
Just over five months on from its original scheduled date the Grand Prix of Japan will take place this weekend having been postponed back in April due to the Icelandic volcano eruption. Dani Pedrosa will be aiming to mount his own disruptive course as the 2010 campaign enters an intense run-in of the final five rounds, and he is now the only rider who can stop Jorge Lorenzo claiming a debut premier class title.
Lorenzo enters the weekend 56 points ahead of Pedrosa and with the experience of victory at Motegi last year, but the Repsol Honda rider is proving to be a stern obstacle in the fight for the 2010 title. Last time out at Aragón was the first time Lorenzo had not featured on the podium this season, and whilst fourth position in the race was by no means a poor result the recuperation of 17 points on the leader by Pedrosa over the last three rounds has signalled that this year’s Championship is far from decided.
Pedrosa has featured on the third step of the podium at the Japanese track for the previous two years and is on a hot current run of form as he and his factory RC212V remain consistent in their production of results. Both he and Lorenzo have 12 premier class career victories to their names now, another added competitive edge to what has recently developed into an intriguing pitting of wits against one another.
Casey Stoner’s first win of the season at Aragón was the culmination of a dominant weekend for the Australian on board his Ducati, and with that victory duck now broken expectations will be high for a strong last sector of the season. He has only stepped onto the podium once at Motegi in the premier class, a second-placed finish in 2008, but confidence will be in plentiful supply now.
Separated by just a single point in fourth and fifth in the Championship standings are Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso. For the reigning World Champion Motegi is another site that has proven to be one of many fruitful hunting grounds having placed second last season and with a win the year before. Rossi, who continues to struggle against an injured shoulder, will be aiming to step back onto the podium again as will Dovizioso whose DNF at Aragón saw him deposed from third in the overall standings.
Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) remains continual in his progress with fellow American Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) another confident rider after his first podium of the year came at Aragón. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) will be determined to right the wrong of his DNF in the previous round, with San Carlo Honda Gresini team-mates Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli level on points with one another behind the Frenchman.
Loris Capirossi’s (Rizla Suzuki) recovery from finger surgery which forced him to miss Aragón is expected to be complete, thus allowing the Italian to make his return to the site of his last MotoGP win in 2007.
The final five rounds of the inaugural 2010 Moto2 World Championship come in quick succession and are spread out over six weekends, with the Grand Prix of Japan presenting the first in the series. Heading to Motegi with a 76-point advantage at the top of the standings is Toni Elías, who will be aiming to deliver a home victory for his Gresini Racing team’s chassis manufacturer Moriwaki.
Even though he finished off the podium for the first time in five races at Aragón fourth place in the race was enough to maintain a healthy lead and also underlined the Spaniard’s strength. At Motegi he will be going for a seventh win of the campaign and also returns to the site of one of his premier class podium finishes, which came in 2007.
The fight for second position is developing into an engrossing one with every round that passes, and just four points separate Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) and race winner from the previous round Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up). Both are in fine form which only adds to the spectacle, with Thomas Lüthi of the Interwetten Moriwaki team a further 14 points back and aiming to close that deficit.
Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) is currently fifth but some 22 points down on Lüthi, with Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up) brimming with confidence after his first Moto2 podium at Aragón and now a single point ahead of Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing).
A special presentation at Motegi will also see Shoya Tomizawa honoured as his family receive the Michel Metraux award, a collective tribute from his fellow Moto2 riders to the Japanese rider who passed away at Misano.
Yusuke Teshima will be riding for the FCC TSR team for this event, with Shogo Moriwaki (Moriwaki Racing) and Kouki Takahashi (Burning Blood RT) both wild card entries. Ferruccio Lamborghini replaces Lukas Pesek on the Matteoni CP Racing team from this round onwards.
The 125cc World Championship remains a closely-fought one as the final five rounds of the campaign are served up in quick succession, and the Grand Prix of Japan marks the start of that sequence in which frontrunners Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar), Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing) and Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) will all be striving to edge even closer to securing the title.
An eventful previous round at Aragón saw the order in the standings change once more as victory for Espargaró, second place for Terol and a DNF for Márquez reordered the top three with 11 points now separating new leader Terol and third-placed Márquez.
Terol’s consistency – two wins followed by two second places – in the previous four rounds have maintained his steady flow of high points hauls, whilst Espargaró’s first victory in eight rounds saw him pull back a deficit to top spot that had stood at 20 points before Aragón. Combined with his podium result at Japan last year Espargaró will have an elevated confidence heading into this round. Márquez’s misfortune in crashing out through no fault of his own at Aragón merely added to the drama that continues to pour forth from the 125cc class.
Bradley Smith remains fourth but is 53 points adrift of the leading trio. The Bancaja Aspar rider does however come into this round off the back of a podium finish in Aragón and remains determined to finish the season with a flourish. Further back Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo), Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing) and Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) are grouped closely
Five wild card entries will also bring added excitement to the class with Syunya Mori (Racing Sayama), Takehiro Yamamoto (Team Nobby), Hikari Ookubo (18 Garage Racing), Yuma Yahagi (Okegawajuku & Endurance) and Sasuke Shinozaki (Team Tec2) all taking part.
— Yamaha Preview
The Fiat Yamaha Team heads to Yamaha’s homeland of Japan this week for the first in a punishing triple-header of ‘flyaway’ races in Japan, Malaysia and Australia. There are just five more races still left to go and championship-leader Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Valentino Rossi are determined to record a few more top results before the curtain comes down on the year in early November.
Lorenzo took a superb win at Motegi last season, passing his team-mate to take a memorable victory. The 23-year-old loves the track and is looking forward to getting back on the podium this time out, having missed out for the first time this season at the last race in Aragon. The Spaniard leads the championship from 56 points from Dani Pedrosa but, despite the points gap, he knows that he can not afford any mistakes if he is to realise his dream of clinching a first premier class world title.
Nine-time champion Rossi also has happy memories of the Japanese circuit, having won there in 2001 and then again with Yamaha in 2008, when he sewed up his eighth world title. He arrives in less than perfect shape this time however after an injury-hit season, with his damaged shoulder still limiting his power and capacity to ride. He knows that the right-handed Motegi track will be extra hard on his body this weekend but is looking forward to Sepang and Phillip Island, which he hopes will be a little easier, as he looks to finish his difficult season on a high.
Motegi has been a victim of the weather over the last couple of years, with qualifying cancelled in 2009 due to torrential rain and then the ash cloud earlier this year meaning the entire race had to be postponed, hence its delayed appearance in the calendar now. Designed in 1997 as a test venue, Motegi features a somewhat geometric track layout. The surface offers good levels of grip without being overly abrasive but the proliferation of second gear turns, linked for the most part by mini-drag strips, means braking and acceleration are the main prerequisite to a fast lap time.
Jorge Lorenzo – “Get back on the podium”
“Motegi is Yamaha’s home and I always feel proud to ride there. Last Year I got my first victory at this track in MotoGP and it was one of the best moments of the season. I like Motegi and I think it can be great for us also this season. The main goal is to get back on the podium and continue getting as many points as possible. We will try to be fast from Friday and start this run of three races as well as we can.
Valentino Rossi – “We will do our best”
“Aragon was a hard weekend, both because we couldn’t find the right setting for our M1 and because I had a lot of trouble with my shoulder. The leg is now almost back to normal again – I have even started running – but the shoulder is a problem and we know now that this is not going to change until we have time to treat it properly. I have some great memories from Motegi, especially winning the championship in 2008, but I am expecting this weekend to be quite difficult on my body. We have a hard three weeks ahead but after this race two of my best tracks are coming up, and I am hoping for some good results. We will do our best and see what happens!”
Wilco Zeelenberg – “We can’t relax too much!”
“After missing out on the podium for the first time this season we know that we have some work to do, because our rivals have taken a step forward. Jorge has a strong lead still but we can’t afford to relax too much because anything can happen. He likes Motegi a lot and we hope that we will be quickly able to find a good setting for our M1. As always our target will be the podium and as many points as we can take without risking too much.”
Davide Brivio – “A tough run of races”
“Valentino is understandably disappointed that he isn’t in as good physical shape as he had hoped, and this is a pity for him because the leg is really quite good now! Aragon was hard on him but generally our bike goes well at Motegi so we hope it will be better, even if the nature of the track will still be hard on him. This run of races is tough on everyone but we will be working as hard as ever and hoping for some good results as we head towards the final races. Unfortunately I had to miss the last round because of a problem with my back; I still have some pain but I have managed to fly to Japan and I am really looking forward to getting back to work.”
— Ducati Preview
This weekend’s Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi is the first of three consecutive races in three weekends for the MotoGP World Championship, which also takes in races in Malaysia and Australia before returning to Europe for the final two rounds of the 2010 season.
The schedule for the next three rounds will see a return to this season’s original format of three sessions of an hour in length although Portugal and Valencia will both feature four sessions of 45 minutes, as was successfully trialled in Aragon.
Following their double podium in the Spanish round both Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden are eager to get back on track and confirm their recent progress, hopeful that the characteristics of the Japanese circuit, where the Ducati Marlboro Team have celebrated three victories and a podium in the past, can be suited to the modified set-ups of their GP10 machines.
CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team
“Motegi is a circuit with a lot of stop and go sections, not much of it flows together and it’s not one of my favourite layouts. On the positive side the surface is smooth, with not too many bumps, which have really made us suffer at a lot of tracks this year. You need a bike that is stable under braking and efficient under acceleration so I am hopeful that the setting we found at Aragon can be useful here again. In Spain we finally managed to improve the stability and found a bit more grip and if we can do that again this weekend we will have the chance to fight for a good result again.”
NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team
“As always this Grand Prix has a little extra flavour because it’s the home round for the big Japanese factories. I actually scored my first ever MotoGP podium at Motegi but I’ve not had much out of it since then other than a couple of front row starts and a few results I’d rather not remember. It is the first of three races in a row in three different countries with very different climates. It is not an easy grind but I always enjoy it. We have to try and build on the good form we showed at Aragon and stay at the same level if we can. It won’t be easy but that has to be our objective.”
VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
“We are coming on the back of a good result at Aragon, where both Casey and Nicky were fast all weekend and their bikes worked well. Obviously it would be nice to us to get to Japan and find that the latest modifications are taking us in the right direction, especially because Motegi is a very different kind of circuit to Aragon. Our riders are in good form and the team is ready to tackle the triple-header that starts this Sunday and so all the ingredients are there for us to try and repeat that result. But it’s never easy and we know that our job is to stay focused and give maximum effort as always.”
THE TRACK
The Twin Ring Motegi is a typical ‘stop and go’ circuit with very few fast corners. Instead it features a series of slow corners linked by medium to long straights that make the bike’s performance under braking and acceleration crucial. The track surface is one of the best on the calendar, with very few bumps and good grip levels. Motegi hosted the Grand Prix of Japan for the first time in 1999. From 2000 to 2003 it was known as the Pacific Grand Prix, before regaining its status as the home of MotoGP in Japan after Suzuka was adjudged to be too dangerous. Known as the “Twin Ring” because it incorporates an Indy-style oval as well as a MotoGP track, the circuit lies in hilly countryside to the north of Tokyo, between the cities of Mito and Utsonomiya, and features an ultra-modern and geometric design.
— HRC Preview
The Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi, Honda’s home track, is always highly anticipated and never more so than this year. The race was originally the second on the calendar in late April, but was rescheduled when the Icelandic volcanic eruption disrupted air traffic in Europe.
Now, five months on, the race will take on a completely different feel. Instead of providing a preview of what was to come, the race will confirm what’s happening now, the 14th of 18 rounds, while also paying tribute to a member of the Honda family who lost his life in a racing accident.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) is on a roll coming into the team’s home grand prix, having won two of the past three races, a string of excellence that has cut 27% out of title leader Jorge Lorenzo’s earlier points lead. Pedrosa is on the best form of his life, with a career high of four race wins. Much of the credit has to go to the engineers at the Honda Racing Corporation, who have developed the RC212V into a machine that can win in any condition, on any track.
And that versatility will soon be put to the test. The season is entering its most intense stretch with five races in six weeks on three continents. It kicks off with the Motegi race, after which the traveling paddock will land in the tropical heat of Sepang, Malaysia, followed directly by the annual visit to the beautiful seaside Phillip Island circuit and its always unpredictable weather. The toll on riders and crews can be difficult, but the upside is that in the next three weeks there are 75 points to be had in three weeks, and for a title hunter like Pedrosa, who’s been on the podium here the past two years, this is an opportunity to make a serious thrust for the MotoGP crown which many had once believed out of reach. With nine podiums in the first 13 races, Pedrosa is looking good to eclipse his 2009 total of 11 podium finishes.
As much as Pedrosa and the rest of the Honda family look forward to Motegi, the race will also be a time for reflection as the MotoGP paddock and Honda Motor Company pay homage to one of their own. Popular Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa, who began his full-time career lasts season riding a Honda RS250 for the Technomag-CIP team, lost his life in a racing accident at the recent San Marino Grand Prix. The young Japanese rising star, an infectiously effervescent 19-year-old from Chiba, had earlier won the first-ever Moto2 race at April’s Qatar GP. Tomizawa will be honoured in his home country by the racing community, as well as family and friends. Shoya’s family is to receive the Michel Metraux trophy from Metraux’s son, Olivier, at the Japanese race. The Michel Metraux trophy is given to the outstanding rider in the 125cc and Moto2 classes as voted by his peers.
Pedrosa’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) started the season with four podiums in the first five races. But maintaining that impressive run of performances has proven difficult, though he’s been on podium pace in at least two other races. Coming off a difficult race weekend at the inaugural Aragon Grand Prix, the Italian is hoping to get back on the rostrum at a track where he won a 125 GP and finished second on a 250. Dovizioso also ran a strong pace at last year’s Motegi GP, where he finished fifth, less than ten seconds behind the winner. Despite recent travails, a strong finish to the end of the year could land him third place in the championship.
Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) is looking forward to the final five races to get back to his early season form. The Frenchman didn’t finish worse than ninth in the first seven races before breaking his leg at the German GP in mid-July. Since his miraculous recovery – he only missed one race, the U.S.GP – de Puniet hasn’t been the same. But, like all the Honda riders, he’s looking forward to a return to Honda’s home track, a track where he earned his first ever MotoGP podium.
San Carlo Honda Gresini team-mates Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli are tied on points with 74 each. Of the two, Simoncelli has the more recent success at Motegi. In 2008, the Italian won the 250cc race and was leading the last-ever 250cc race at the track last year when he was forced to retire. This will be his first visit on a MotoGP machine and he believes that mastering late race tyre management will help him improve his overall position.
Melandri is less concerned with managing his tyres that improving stability under braking. The Twin Ring Motegi has a number of stop-and-go corners and Melandri has had difficulty with that aspect of machine set-up this year. Still, he’s been on the podium in Motegi a number of times, including aboard a Honda RC211V in 2006.
Very few are looking forward to the Japanese Grand Prix as much as Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V). The last ever 250cc champion is a popular rider at home, where he’ll be making his MotoGP debut in front of friends and family. Aoyama has scored points in every MotoGP race he’s finished, though he missed six races mid-season after breaking his back during the British Grand Prix. Since his return, he has continued to progress physically and, with a two week break since the Aragon GP, expects to be approaching peak physical condition.
Moto2 World Championship leader Toni Elias (Gresini Racing, Moriwaki) recently surpassed his best season wins total with a sixth victory of the year in San Marino. Then came a fourth place at Aragon – he missed out on the podium by less than a second – from which he expects to bounce back.
Elias is one of six Moto2 riders to campaign a Moriwaki chassis, mated to his control Honda CBR600RR engine, in the inaugural year of Moto2 racing. Winning the race in the chassis maker’s home country is one of the goals Elias has for the weekend, as he seeks to extend his championship lead. Elias arrives in Motegi with a 76 point advantage over Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter). He’s also the main reason that Moriwaki has 33 point lead over Suter in the Constructor’s championship. The Spaniard has two wins in the 250cc class at Motegi when the race was the Pacific Grand Prix, and he also a MotoGP podium at the track.
Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter) is locked in a battle for second in the championship with Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up). They arrive in Japan separated by four points at a track where both have had success. Simon finished second in last year’s Motegi 125cc race, a race won by Iannone. The track plays to the strengths of the Suter chassis, which is the hard braking zones that Simon favours. Simon has finished second four times this season, including in the last three races, and is hopeful of getting his maiden Moto2 victory in Japan.
Iannone has been the surprise of the initial Moto2 championship. The 21-year-old Italian is second to Elias in wins with three successes. Having won at Aragon, Iannone will be doing everything he can to follow up his 2009 Motegi 125 victory with another Moto2 win.
Tom Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 Team, Moriwaki) is fourth in the championship and well clear of fifth. The 24-year-old Swiss rider has come close to winning on two occasions this year, but has yet to break through. He enjoys the Motegi circuit and is looking forward to his return.
Twin Ring Motegi was built by Honda in the town of Motegi in the eastern Tochigi prefecture to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary in 1998 and to help introduce open wheel Indy Car racing to Japan. The name comes from the marriage of two words, the English “twin” and the German “ring,” to denote two race tracks. The MotoGP race is run on the 4.8km road course, which hosts various events throughout the year. The other track is the 2.493k egg shaped-oval which last hosted Indy Cars in 2002. Motegi served as the site of the Pacific Grand Prix from 2000 to 2003 and since 2004 has been the venue for the Japanese GP.
The road course is built around stop-start straightaways leading to low-gear hairpins that favour stability on the brakes and rapid acceleration, usually on the fat part of the tyre. More than half of the 13 corners are taken in first or second gear. The lone sixth gear stretch is on the back straight, where in 2009 the fastest top speed of 297.8kp/h was clocked by Pedrosa and his RC212V. Pedrosa also had the fastest trap speed of 292kp/h in 2008.
Braking stability is paramount, as riders are asked to brake from sixth down to first gear for the 90 degree Turn 10 right-hander. From there the riders go briefly into the dark through the short tunnel under the oval straightaway. Out of the shadows they’re funneled into the final three-turn sequence that leads onto the 762m long front straight and the finish line.
Motegi was to have run on the April 25th weekend until the volcano in Iceland disrupted travel. The teams were told the weekend prior to the race that the date had been moved to the fall to become the first of the final three flyaways. After Malaysia and Phillip Island, the series reaches its finale back in Europe, at Estoril and Valencia.
HONDA MotoGP Rider Quotes
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says: “We start the most intense period of the season this weekend, with five races in six weeks, and my goal is to make the best possible finish to the championship. I think we’re very strong at the moment and we must take full advantage of it. This final stage begins in Japan – the most important race for Honda because it’s their home Grand Prix – and I’m looking forward to getting to the circuit and starting the preparations for this special race. I would love to win at Motegi because I’ve never won here in MotoGP and I’ve been on the podium for the last two seasons. I always feel very motivated in Japan. I love the circuit and the atmosphere you feel there. The fans are very enthusiastic but also educated, and I feel a lot of support. We couldn’t race in Motegi at the beginning of the season due to the problems with the volcanic ash clouds, so I think the fans will be even more excited to welcome us. It will be very important to start this tour of Asia in the best way. As I’ve said before, I will approach this final section of the season simply thinking race by race. We’re doing a good job in the team, the RC212V is working well – we know it better and better – and so this a good chance for us to try to win more races and to finish the year in the best possible way.”
Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso says: “We have another chance to get a strong result this weekend and I’m very motivated going into this race. It is Honda’s home GP and it’s really important to do well here for Honda as well as for the team and myself. Last year, qualifying was cancelled because of rain and we didn’t have a lot of set-up time, but still I had a good race and my pace was strong, so I’m confident we can fight at the front again. Plus I always look forward to racing in Japan because the atmosphere is so different and special here. The layout of the Twin Ring Motegi, with its many areas of hard acceleration from low speed, is good for us and should allow us to use all the power and strong points of the RC212V. We are determined to get a good result here because we’ve been close for several races now without coming through on our potential. Our target remains third position in the championship, so a podium finish in Motegi is really important for me. It’s what we’re aiming for and I’m looking forward to the challenge at Honda’s home GP.”
LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet says: “The last race in Aragon did not end as I expected. I had a good feeling on the bike on Friday and Saturday but I crashed with seven laps to go. I escaped unhurt from the accident but I was in a bad mood. I really hope to find my good pace again in the last part of the season starting from Japan. Motegi GP is very important for us as we race with Honda and the Japanese fans are very warm. I have good memories of this circuit because I obtained my first MotoGP podium there. I like the stop-and-go braking points and I always enjoy riding there!”
San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Melandri says: “Following our disappointment at Aragon we go into the next run of races looking to give our best, even though we know it will be tough. Motegi is the first of three races in a row outside of Europe and it is a place where the weather is always uncertain so we just hope we get chance to do a good job in practice and prepare as well as possible for the race. Unfortunately I’m not feeling too optimistic about the trip; I like the track despite the fact it is not very technical but for me it is going to be a tough race because you need a bike that is stable under braking and that is where we are having the most problems at the moment. We believe in miracles!”
San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli says: “I was fairly happy after the race at Aragon although we needed to have a look at how and where I can improve my performance in the final stages of the race, when the tyres are worn. My rivals managed to keep up their pace in the same conditions but my speed dropped off noticeably and I couldn’t stay with them. We have to improve the set up but we can use the one we found at Aragon as a base. Now we go to Motegi, a circuit I always quite liked on the 250. I won in Japan in 2008 and I was forced to retire from the race when I was leading last year but it is a circuit where I have always been fast and I hope that proves to be the case again in MotoGP. I’m feeling positive so let’s see!”
Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider Hiroshi Aoyama says: “I am looking forward to my home Grand Prix in Motegi. My family and my friends will be there to support me and I want to give them a good show to watch. I also hope that my back will be fit again and that I can give 100% without any concerns. I want to try to give the team the best possible result in Motegi and I hope it will be my best result this season so far. I expect a lot of this race and hope I can meet my target.”
Moto2 RIDER Quotes
Gresini Racing Moto2 rider Toni Elias says: “I would have liked to win at Aragon but we ran into a few difficulties after the crash in practice. I made a bad start in the race and after finishing the first lap back in sixteenth I managed to finish the race in fourth place, which is a positive result – I couldn’t have asked for more. We took home some important championship points and overall it was a good weekend because we could have easily come away with nothing. I am the only rider to have scored points in every round this season and I think we are getting our reward for that consistency. Now we go to a circuit I love and I would be delighted to win the race for Moriwaki at their home Grand Prix. We know it won’t be easy because Moto2 is a very unpredictable class and we have to hope that we get the luck where we need it to be amongst the frontrunners again.”
Mapfre Aspar Team Suter rider Julian Simon says: “It is very positive that we are going into the flyaway races lying second in the championship. Little by little we are picking up experience and getting a better feel for the bike. I have been on the podium a couple of times at Motegi, I finished second last year and I love the track. I also think the Suter chassis will adapt well to it, especially the hard braking zones, which I love. I just want to keep working as we have done up to now and extend this run of podiums although my objective is to go for the win, which would be good for me and the team. Physically I feel in good shape, I haven’t had a problem all season and I think that if we steer clear of incident we can keep this going to the end of the year.”
Fimmco Speed Up rider Andrea Iannone says: “The three races we are going to face in the next three weekends are very important for us. We are going to do our best to get closer to Toni Elias in the Championship Classification: we need to get as many points as possible. I hope we’ll be fast from the beginning of the weekend, without having much trouble in setting up the bike. It would be great to repeat the result I scored last year, when I won the race on a 125cc bike. Let’s see what kind of weather we will find once we get up there in Motegi.”
Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 Team rider Thomas Luthi says: “I am looking forward to go to Motegi. I think the racetrack there is not bad. The layout needs a lot of strong braking and that is quite good in my opinion. I know that the three races that are coming now will be very exhausting, as the races are back to back, but I still look forward to the big travel overseas and am excited to see what we can do on this three tracks. I will try to get closer to the top group again as that was not really possible in Aragón.”
— Suzuki Preview
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP welcomes back Loris Capirossi from injury for this weekend’s race in Japan, the first of three Grands Prix over as many weekends around the Pacific Ocean.
The first race of the trio tour sees the Rizla team heading to Suzuki’s homeland of Japan for the Motegi Twin-Ring Grand Prix. Capirossi has an enviable record at the 4,801m Japanese circuit; he has won three MotoGP races and been on the podium a further three times. Capirossi will be looking to try to add to that record as he makes his comeback following a one race absence, after a crash at Misano earlier this month left him needing surgery on his right-hand.
Álvaro Bautista heads to Japan on the back of three very strong performances – he too has a good record at the Motegi circuit with victory last year in the 250cc class and second place finishes in 2008 and 2006. Bautista is now at full-fitness following his early season injuries and will be hoping to challenge the top-six on a regular basis as the season starts to near its climax.
Motegi is situated about 90km/s north-east of Tokyo, approximately half-way between the towns of Mito and Utsunomiya. The track was constructed in 1997 as a oval test-track for evaluating the performance of cars, but it also incorporates a road circuit that is used for the MotoGP. This coming weekend will also see Suzuki celebrate its 50th anniversary of racing. Famous bikes and riders from Suzuki’s history will be present at Motegi including Mitsuo Ito, who still holds the title of the first – and so far only – Japanese Isle of Man TT winner, a feat he accomplished in 1963.
Rizla Suzuki will take to the track on Friday 1st October for a solitary free practice session in the afternoon followed by another practice the following morning. Saturday afternoon will see the Rizla Suzuki pair battle it out in an hour of qualifying to decide grid positions for Sunday’s 24-lap race which gets underway at 15.00hrs local time (06.00hrs GMT).
Loris Capirossi: “My finger is at about 90%, but it is only a finger so I am totally ready for the weekend. I am still having physiotherapy every day to get it better and will continue until the race, so by then it should be ok. I love Motegi, It is my favourite race track of the year and I have good memories from there. I have won three times and it would be amazing to challenge the front guys – especially as it is a big weekend for Suzuki. I know that it is tough out there, but anything is possible and we have got to keep believing in ourselves.”
Álvaro Bautista: “Motegi is not one of my favourite circuits, it is a bit too plain and does little to test a rider, it is just a lot of straights and then short corners put together, so it is difficult to get a flowing rhythm. I have done quite well there in recent years though so I probably don’t dislike it that much! We still have a lot of work to do on the GSV-R, but we are improving every race and so is my riding, I know I need to qualify better on the Saturday, because this is leaving me a lot of work to do in the race, so that is my first priority this weekend. If I can get on the first couple of rows who knows what might happen in the race.”
— Bridgestone Preview
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric)
Round fourteen takes Bridgestone to their home grand prix in Japan on 3 October, held at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit near Mito, just a few hours from the Tokyo headquarters of Bridgestone Corporation.
After the original calendar slot in April, the Icelandic volcanic eruption and the ensuing travel disruptions forced a rescheduled date at the start of October as the first of a trio of overseas grands prix in Japan, Malaysia and Australia. This date change means that the prevailing conditions are expected to be warmer than at the start of the year so Bridgestone have revised the slick tyre selection in favour of slightly harder compounds to offer better performance more suited to the early October climate. Asymmetric slicks have also been selected this year as the Japanese Grand Prix is one of a number of races at which asymmetric rear slick tyre usage has been increased this season.
The 4.8km circuit features four long and fast straights followed by very heavy braking points, and the circuit’s layout is characterised by hard acceleration followed by heavy braking. This places the emphasis on front tyre stability and a strong centre section, and good traction from the rear tyre. The most notable exception to this is the very fast and flowing section from 130R to S-corner, through which the riders must have complete confidence to commit.
Last year the weather played havoc with riders’ track-time, causing qualifying to be cancelled and giving teams just one hour of dry running before the race, during which the temperature was ten degrees warmer than it had been all weekend. Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo took his first victory on Bridgestone tyres ahead of teammate Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Motegi has always been an important event for Bridgestone and one at which we have reached many milestones so it holds special memories for me. It is our home event, the circuit at which Makoto Tamada scored only our second MotoGP victory back in 2004, and our first two World Championships were also decided in Motegi, with Casey and Ducati in 2007 and Valentino and Fiat Yamaha in 2008. We have seen some exciting races in Motegi in the past and as we enter the final phase of this season and the championship race gathers pace I’m sure this time will be no different. At Motegi Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki will also be performing in front of their home crowd, so all in all I’m excited about this grand prix.”
Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“Motegi has a stop -and-go nature featuring some heavy braking and hard acceleration points which traditionally tend to bunch the field and provide close racing. A strong centre section of each tyre is essential for stability from the front under heavy braking and traction from the rear when accelerating hard. It is in these areas that our tyres will face the greatest pressure in Motegi.
“With the change of date the temperature is higher than it would have been in April so we have amended our compound selection to go one step harder front and rear. The track surface is high-grip and quite abrasive, and the circuit layout doesn’t feature many left-hand corners so this year, taking into account riders’ feedback from last year, we have decided to bring asymmetric rear slicks. We continuously study last year’s data and we listen to the riders in an effort to refine our compound specifications and Motegi is a good example of this.”
