PREVIEW - BRITISH GRAND PRIX - DONINGTON

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PREVIEW - BRITISH GRAND PRIX - DONINGTON 02/07/2006
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CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM SEEK DONINGTON RETRIBUTION

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.?

VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION

Age: 27
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 82 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 165 (105 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 41
World Championships ? 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4
x MotoGP)

COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION

Age: 32
Lives: Conroe, Texas
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 56 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike


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.?

CIRCUIT INFORMATION

Pole position left
Length: 4023 m
Width: 10 m
Right corners: 7
Left corners: 4
Constructed in: 1931
Last modified: 1985

Donington Lap Record: Colin Edwards (Honda) 2004, 1?29.973
Donington Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1?27.897

N? of laps: 30 (120.69 km / 74.99 miles )

2005 Results (Wet Race):

1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 52.58.675
2. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, +3.169
3. Alex Barros (BRA) Honda, +4.006

4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +10.292

 

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MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
30 JUNE 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO FIFTH FASTEST AT DONINGTON PARK

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano finished today fifth fastest at Donington Park and just three tenths of a second behind Dani Pedrosa, who topped the timesheet at the end of this afternoon's free practice session.

Nakano tested a number of different rear tyres from Bridgestone during both practice sessions today, as he worked with his crew to identify a suitable race tyre for Sunday's 30-lap British Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old Japanese rider has narrowed the choice down to two different rear slicks, but will postpone making a final decision on which one he'll race until he has completed further comparison tests tomorrow.

The stop start nature of the Melbourne Loop section makes it difficult sometimes for riders to find a consistent rhythm at Donington Park, but Nakano had no such problems today. The Kawasaki rider ran top ten on the timesheet throughout this afternoon's hour-long session, before upping the pace to claim fifth place overall with his final lap.

Randy de Puniet was 14th fastest today, after struggling with front-end chatter on his Ninja ZX-RR. The Kawasaki rider worked with his crew during both hour-long practice sessions, trying different chassis and suspension settings in a bid to reduce the chatter, but the problem persisted and, as a result, the 25-year-old Frenchman was unable to show his potential around the Donington Park circuit today.

The Kawasaki Racing Team's technical staff will revisit the problem overnight, using data downloaded from de Puniet's Ninja ZX-RR machines, and they are confident of finding a solution ahead of tomorrow's all-important practice and qualifying sessions.

Shinya Nakano: 5th - 1'29.275
"We've been able to carry the momentum over from Assen to Donington, and I'm satisfied with my position in practice today. Our main focus today has been on rear tyre testing, to identify a race tyre for Sunday. We have tried three different rear slicks in the bike today, and it looks like we will have to go for a harder compound than we originally predicted, because the temperature is higher than we were expecting here at Donington. Today I did many laps, and I managed to find a good rhythm with the bike very quickly, especially around the stop start section that includes the Melbourne Hairpin, where it's very easy to lose valuable time. So, overall I'm happy with what we've achieved today, but I think we can improve further tomorrow."

Randy de Puniet: 14th - 1'30.342
"Today was difficult because I had some problems with front-end chatter throughout practice that we couldn't seem to dial out, and this made it almost impossible to lap consistently at a reasonable pace during both practice sessions. We will look again at the problem overnight, using the data from the bike, and I'm confident that the team will find a solution and we'll be back on the pace tomorrow."

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager
"Shinya focussed today on tyre testing, to identify a race tyre for Sunday, and while we have a couple of potential options open to us, we won't make a final decision until we've run some more comparison tests tomorrow. Shinya went well today, but there are still some improvements to be had tomorrow from refining the chassis and engine settings on his two bikes. Randy has had a difficult day, but when you look at his partial lap times they are not so bad. I think that, at the moment, he doesn't have the confidence in the front end to be consistent, but we hope to solve this problem overnight ready for practice and qualifying tomorrow."

FREE PRACTICE - COMBINED TIMES
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'28.970; 2. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.055; 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +0.094; 4. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +0.226; 5. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.305; 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.409; 7. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.446; 8. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +0.574; 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.587; 10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.828; 14. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.372

 

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First Day / GOOD START FOR MARCO MELANDRI IN ENGLAND

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 El?as , 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.?

 

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FREE PRACTICE - BRITISH GRAND PRIX - DONINGTON 30/06/2006
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ROSSI RECOVERING SPEED AND STRENGTH AT DONINGTON

After five days of intense physiotherapy on cracked bones in his right
wrist and left foot, Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned
to MotoGP action for the first true test of his fitness since the Dutch
TT in today?s free practice sessions for the British Grand Prix. Rossi
took to the Donington Park circuit with heavy strapping on his wrist
but was able to complete 43 laps over the two sessions, running
consistently at the top end of the timing screens before settling for
the seventh fastest lap overall.

With Rossi focusing on adapting the bike both to the demands of the
circuit and the diminishing limitations of his physical condition, his
team-mate Colin Edwards worked diligently beside him on the set-up of
his own YZR-M1 machine. With his last-corner battle for victory at
Assen still fresh in the mind, today represented a perfect opportunity
for the Texan to turn the page and focus on another podium assault in
Sunday?s ninth round of the season. Edwards lapped fourth fastest in
the morning session and slipped to sixth in the afternoon, but after
completing 53 laps he has plenty of crucial data to work from ahead of
tomorrow?s single qualifying session.

COLIN EDWARDS (6th ? 1?29.379; 53 laps)?To be honest my pace today wasn?t quite as good as I had expected but
we?re still looking for a few things from the set-up that we?ll work on
tomorrow. We had a couple of problems today but by the end of the
second session it was starting to come. Basically we need to get it
turning into the corners a little better and there are some sections of
the track where we?re getting some vibrations, but it is nothing major.
We played around with the tyres a little today but we?ve got plenty
still to do and need to get our heads down in the morning before
chasing a lap time in qualifying.?

VALENTINO ROSSI (7th ? 1?29.416; 43 laps)
?I?m happy to be riding again and enjoying myself on the bike. Assen
was a very tough weekend for me but my physio has done a good job and I
feel better, although still not at 100%. I still have some pain,
especially under braking, but the mobility is much better and this is
important. There are three hard braking areas at this track where I am
struggling and to be honest I don?t know how this will be in the race;
I was losing strength towards the end of the afternoon session today
and this could be a problem. As far as the lap time is concerned we
need to make up a few tenths in certain areas but I think we can do
this with a few changes to the bike. I will get some more treatment
tonight and keep some ice on my wrist and we will see tomorrow.?

DAVIDE BRIVIO ? CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR?We?re still working with both riders on the setting of the bike and it
has been good to have a ?normal? first day ? gathering data without
anything spectacular happening and no dramas to worry about either. The
good news is that Valentino can ride without too much pain or
discomfort and he is trying his best to manage his condition and set
fast laps. We know we have to be faster but we are still fine-tuning
the set-up and have plenty of room for improvement tomorrow. The only
question mark is how Valentino can hold up over the course of a race
but we can?t know that until Sunday. We?ll just set up the bike and let
the Clinica Mobile set up the rider!?

 

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Free Practice - Donington

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN GO BACK TO WORK


The Ducati Marlboro Team went back to work at warm and sunny Donington Park today, just six days after last Saturday's Dutch TT. Riders Loris Capirossi and Alex Hofmann finished the day tenth and 15th quickest, the Italian preferring not to take part in the afternoon session to rest the chest injuries he sustained in the turn-one accident at Catalunya two weeks ago.

Capirossi is still in pain and struggling to breathe normally. And because his injuries are internal they are difficult to treat and are quite unresponsive to pain therapies, so rest is the best cure in order to be as strong as possible for Sunday's race.
Hofmann made a steady start this morning but made useful improvements to the set-up of his Desmosedici GP6 this afternoon.
LORIS CAPIROSSI, FP1 8th fastest, 1m 29.798s
"This morning's practice went well. I was pretty happy with our tyres and our set-up which didn't need many changes to work here. But after ten laps or so my chest started hurting again, though it isn't as bad as it was at Assen. After that I decided on a new strategy, to rest this afternoon and get back on track tomorrow, then having pain-killing injections for the race. I think I can have a good enough race and maybe take home useful points. I still have a strong belief in the championship. In two weeks at the Sachsenring I expect to be 80 to 90 per cent fit, then for the last seven races I think we'll be very competitive from every point of view - bike, tyres and rider."

ALEX HOFMANN, 15th fastest, 1m 30.387s
"We didn't exactly lose this morning's session but we definitely didn't make the best of starts, that's why I'm a bit down the list. I was struggling with wheelspin, I couldn't get the power down but 20 minutes into this afternoon's session we some good improvements, which allowed me to feel the bike and the tyres so I could start to work. We made some changes to the rear suspension settings and tested some tyres and I think with what we've learned we can make another useful step forward tomorrow. My aim is to do consistent 29s on race tyres tomorrow morning, so I've got a good pace going into qualifying."

Temperatures: Ambient: 27 degrees. Track: 44 degrees