Nicky Hayden keeps the leadership with an advantage of 21 points, and Dani Pedrosa, after his complicated race in Australia is fourth, 32 points behind his team mate. With 75 points still at stake and three races left, Japan has become an important and decisive round in the fight for the 2006 world championship title in the MotoGP class.
After the turbulent Australian Grand Prix in the premier class, where the rain caused an abnormal situation that benefited some riders and harmed others, the Repsol Honda Team arrives at the Japanese track of Motegi with his two riders in different situations. North American rider Nicky Hayden lands in Japan with an advantage of 21 points in the overall standings over the second qualified rider, Valentino Rossi, and 32 over the third and fourth qualified riders, a position held with equal points by Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa, after his fifteenth place in Australia will be back this weekend on the track where he fractured a shoulder last year during the practices, although the injury was no hindrance enough and he managed to finish second behind team mate Hiroshi Aoyama, winner of the 250cc Japanese Grand Prix in 2005. Things went worse for Nicky Hayden last year in Motegi, where he was not able to be competitive during the weekend finishing in a very back seventh position. With the title at stake and knowing that he cannot continue handing over points to his rivals, the Repsol Honda Team rider, supported by his technical team, will have to show all of his potential in Motegi.
For the Repsol Honda Team 250cc, Motegi will be a very special race because on the one hand, the team will be racing "at home" with Shuhei Aoyama, a Japanese rider who knows his home track in Motegi very well and hopes to get a good result on the Honda circuit. Shuhei was invited to race as a wild card rider last year in the 250cc race and managed to take the third position on the starting grid, joining his brother Hiroshi on the front row, who was on pole. Unfortunately he wasn't able to finish the race due to a crash in lap three while being ninth. It will also be a special race for the team because they will have David De Gea as a substitute rider to the injured Martín Cárdenas. Spanish rider De Gea, who has already raced twice on the Motegi track -once on a 250cc and once on a 500cc bike-, will replace Cárdenas after the reproduction of Cárdenas collarbone injury (the one he had fractured at the Dutch Grand Prix), during the race weekend in Australia.
In the minor class, Repsol rider Bradley Smith, who crashed last Sunday during the race in Australia is ready to take up again the upward line he had been following throughout the 2006 season but was interrupted during the practices of the Czech Grand Prix, where he crashed and fractured his left arm. After missing the Malaysian Grand Prix, Smith returned in high spirits at the Australian Grand Prix but a crash during the race after touching with another rider, frustrated his plans of scoring points again. In Motegi, Honda's home-circuit, Bradley will try to score some more valuable points.
The Venue Of The GP: Motegi CircuitLocated within the beautiful mountains of the Japanese Kanto district, the Twin Ring circuit at Motegi actually consists of two completely independent tracks, as suggested by its name: a 2,5 km oval with open pit garages for races in pure American style and a road course of almost 5 kms in length constructed to the most demanding international standards. Built by Honda on the company's 50th anniversary as a test facility, Motegi became venue of the Japanese Grand Prix in 1999 and is now home of the Pacific Grand Prix. Its 4800 metres include meticulously computer-designed fast corners, eight right-hand and six left-hand, and its slopes are a guarantee for interesting and exciting races. The Motegi circuit is a major attraction for motorsports fans all year round: it hosts the Honda museum with a permanent collection of racing motorbikes and cars from all ages. It also includes a driving school, dirt track and go-kart, hotel, restaurant, shops and several other services with some 300 employees, thus guaranteeing activity throughout the year.
Nicky Hayden: "Well that's14 races down and three to go and it's really getting to crunch time now. At Phillip Island last week I had a good scrap with some guys for the podium on the last lap and I really enjoyed it. Although the result wasn't great, and battling for third is not like going for the win, there was a lot on the line and we were on a drying track with rain tyres - that was fun. I think we need to tweak the flag-to-flag race rules to make the pit road a little less busy because it was filled with so many people in the way. But I really like switching bikes - I used to love racing the Daytona 200 just for the pit stops and I thought it was fun in Australia. I practised the changeover this winter during testing so my guys were really ready for this situation and that helped us. So I look forward to moving on to Motegi. I got third place here in my rookie year, though I've had some weaker results since and struggled a bit, so I'm planning to do better for my Japanese fans this year. I always get lots of support in Japan and I'm gonna be really trying to make my supporters proud, and the guys in my team because they've been working really hard. It's Honda's home race too so it would be nice to give the Honda fans something to shout about."
Dani Pedrosa: "I'm looking forward to this race very much. Motegi is a circuit that I really like and I've had some good results here in the past. It's a well-balanced track with a variety of corners and some really hard braking zones. I haven't ridden a MotoGP bike here before so I'm hoping to adapt quickly. This race is the last of three in a row and they've been quite difficult for me because of the injuries I picked up in Malaysia. But each time I ride the bike it's a little easier and I'm hoping to make a good result here. At the last race in Phillip Island I wasn't able to give my best performance in the race but this was mostly because of the weather conditions and traffic jam in the pit-lane while I was changing bikes. Of course we'll have to see what the weather's going to do in Motegi because it's possible it will rain here too. Philllip Island didn't really help my championship position but my aim this season was to learn as much as possible and perform to my maximum and this is what I'll try and do until the end of the year."
Shuhei Aoyama:"I'm really looking forward to the race in Japan, because it's a circuit I obviously know very well. I want at least to get on the podium, but my real target is to win the race. I like the circuit a lot and I'm sure that with this bike I will be able to make a very good race there. I'm also looking forward to meeting my fans and friends there and I hope to be able to make a good race for them."
David De Gea:"I'm very happy to have a chance like this, it will possibly be the best I ever had in my sports career. The first thing I want to do is to thank Honda, Repsol and Alberto Puig for the chance they have given me; I only hope to do a good job in return to the confidence that have put in me. I know the Motegi circuit because I've raced a couple of times there, once on a 250cc and once on a 500cc machine, so it won't be a problem to remember the layout after a couple of laps. I'll have to adapt to the bike but there's no doubt that with the technical staff of the Repsol Honda Team 250 I'll have all the help needed to evolve during the weekend."
Bradley Smith:"I've seen the Japanese track in the Play Station and it looks more like a stop/start circuit rather than fast like Australia. I don't know whether that will suit me or not but after the last weekend with the positive things we need to carry on doing the same and trying to improve there. It's Honda's track as well so there is extra incentive to do well there so I'm looking forward to it just to, kind of redeem last weekend. I will physically feel much better as well although the arm was not so much the problem in Australia. We just iced it and thirty minutes after the session it was OK, but it will be definitely better."
Related Linkswww.world.honda.com www.twinring.co.jp
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