The MotoGP World Championship arrives at Laguna Seca for the tenth time in total, with the circuit that lies between the towns of Monterey and Salinas, to the south of San Francisco, having hosted the USGP on six occasions between 1988 and 1994 - as well as for the past three seasons. Seven of the nine races held there so far have been won by Americans, demonstrating the advantage of local knowledge at this unique circuit. Team Gresini have featured strongly, however, with two podium finishes out of three attempts thanks to consecutive third place finishes for Marco Melandri in 2006 and 2007.
After a stunning fourth place for Alex De Angelis in the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring, Team San Carlo Honda Gresini will be back on track this Friday on the other side of the Atlantic as the MotoGP World Championship heads to Laguna Seca for the USGP.
The team led by Fausto Gresini hope to continue their good form at the Californian track, having celebrated podium finishes there for the past two seasons. It is a first taste of the notorious Corkscrew corner for rookie rider De Angelis, whilst the experienced Shinya Nakano is confident of improving his pace and his past results there on the Bridgestone-shod Honda RC212.
#15 Alex De Angelis“I’ll be racing at Laguna Seca for the first time but in a way I already know the track because I went there last year to watch the MotoGP race and I did a few laps on a scooter. I’m so excited by the prospect of this new experience because everybody talks so highly of the Corkscrew, probably the most famous corner on the whole calendar! We’ll start the weekend with the base setting from 2007 – the team were really competitive here last season so I think it will be a good base. I’ll just complete as many laps as possible in the first two practice sessions to try and learn all the secrets of the track and pick up as much as I can from the more experienced riders. Unfortunately I expect us to struggle again in qualifying but I’ll give my best to get as good a starting position as possible. Anyway, in certain aspects the circuit is similar to Sachsenring so I think it can be well suited to my riding style and our bike.”
#56 Shinya Nakano“I like Laguna Seca in general – the first year we raced there I was really shocked with how you have to take the Corkscrew but then year after year I’ve got used to it. Without doubt the riders who are fastest through that corner notice a big difference to their lap time. The secret is to brake as deep as possible into the corner and then make a really fast change in direction, but keeping it smooth at the same time. As always the tyres will be fundamentally important because we’ll probably get high track temperatures once again. My result last year wasn’t great so I want to make up for that!”
Fausto Gresini – Team Manager“In 2007 our team produced a fantastic performance at Laguna Seca: we know that Bridgestone have got a great record at this circuit and it suits the characteristics of the Honda RC212V so we go to the United States feeling confident that we can score good results. The only worry for us is about qualifying because at the last round in Germany our riders were two of the stars of free practice, but then couldn’t maintain that level of performance in the decisive qualifying session. So we obviously need to make a massive step forward in this area to secure much better positions on the starting grid.”
