KUCIAR666
Registered User
PREVIEW - BRITISH GRAND PRIX - DONINGTON 02/07/2006
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM SEEK DONINGTON RETRIBUTION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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