After the Grand Prix of Catalunya, on the outskirts of Barcelona, JiR Team Scot heads north across the European continent and crosses the English Channel heading for Great Britain and the city of Derby.
There, in the heart of the English East-Midlands, is situated the Donington Park circuit. Both riders are ready to face the eighth race in the MotoGP calendar and both are moving towards a common objective: the podium.
Andrea Dovizioso, fourth in Spain, has obtained excellent results in the two days of tests following that race, even with the qualifying tyres that have caused him some concerns in the past.
Also, last year at Donington he won one of his two victories of the season. Yuki Takahashi also has a real hunger for improved results, both to improve his position in the 250cc championship and redeem himself from his off-track excursion in Spain, where he fought back to get into the points.
Cirano Mularoni - Team Manager JiR Team Scot
“We head to the next Grand Prix with the whole team having very high morale. In MotoGP when we last raced we showed signs of improvement in our interpreting of the technical package we have at our disposal. In addition to this Andrea has always performed well at Donington and this could be helpful as he heads to the circuit for the first time with the Honda RC212V. Yuki wants to make a big impact on the results this weekend and I believe that the time is right for a demonstration of his potential. I am confident that with the support of the Team we can face the two races under the best conditions possible for us. We are now close to the half-way point of the season and each result will be crucial for both championships.”
Andrea Dovizioso – Rider – JiR Team Scot MotoGP - HONDA RC212V
“This English circuit I like very much and I have always performed well there. In fact, I have had two victories there, one in 125 and one last year in 250s. It’s a great track, but one that I think on the MotoGP bike will be very different from the smaller bikes, as with the RC212V you wont be on the gas quite as much! The track is in two parts: one flowing and with fast corners, the other half slow, with lots of hard braking areas. With the new bike it will be a little bit of an unknown. The track itself offers good grip in the dry and when it’s sunny but it’s very slippery when it’s wet. I’m ready for anything though, especially after our good result in Spain which has shown that we have made many improvements.”
Yuki Takahashi – Rider – JiR Team Scot 250GP - HONDA RS250RW
“I go to Donington with the prospect of obtaining a good result, better than I did last year which, in the rain, I came fourth. This year we are in a position to do have some good results and get some high positions at every racetrack. For various reasons we have not really made the most out of our potential and we need to regain some points in the championship battle. Thinking back to Barcelona despite the poor final result, the way I rode in the race confirms to me that we are in good shape. Donington is a circuit, which I know well and like. The track isn’t an easy one to go fast on, but it has some quick turns and elevation changes and I’m comfortable on the track even in the rain. I’m confident of giving the team a great result this weekend.”
Donington Park Circuit
Circuit length: 4023 m (2.5 miles)
Main straight: 564 m (0.350 miles)
Width: 10 m
Pole Position: Left
Right hand corners: 7
Left hand corners: 4
MotoGP
Lap record: 1’28”714 D.Pedrosa 2006 (Honda)
Pole Position: 1’27”676 D.Pedrosa 2006 (Honda)
British Grand Prix 2007 - Results:
1st Casey Stoner (Ducati)
2nd Colin Edwards (Yamaha)
3rd Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki)
250cc
Lap Record: 1’33”029 A.Dovizioso 2006 (Honda)
Pole Position: 1’31”659 J.Lorenzo 2006 (Aprilia)
British Grand Prix 2007 - Results:
1st Andrea Dovizioso (Honda)
2nd Alex De Angelis (Aprilia)
3rd Hiroshi Aoyama (KTM)
