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 MotoGP:
Camel Yamaha previews Donington GP
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."
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."
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