 |
2012 Grand Prix of Japan - Motegi - Preview 09/10/2012 |
|
Date : 09/10/2012
Repsol Honda Team heads East for decisive final races
This weekend The Repsol Honda Team return to full strength with Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner for the Japanese Grand Prix, the 15th round of the MotoGP Championship.
Dani, who has won three of the last four races, currently lies 2nd in the Championship and is chasing down Lorenzo. He will be looking to repeat his 2011 victory in Motegi and reduce the 33 point gap with just 4 races of 2012 remaining. Dani has won at Motegi in all three classes, 125cc (2002), 250cc (2004) and MotoGP (2011).
Casey, who has missed the last three Grands Prix due to an injury sustained in qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix in August, will be anxious to get back on track and asses the movement in his right ankle. Casey had surgery on the 30th August and has been recovering at home in Australia with his target to be fit for the final races of 2012. With 186 points Casey is mathematically out of the Championship race but he will want to finish on a high before he retires from the sport. Casey has a single victory at Motegi in MotoGP 2010.
|
 |
| |
| DANI PEDROSA – World Championship Position: 2nd with 257 points |
|
|
| |
| "Motegi is a race I always look forward to. It's the most important weekend for Honda and I really enjoy the circuit. We have now the most demanding period of races ahead, but we will keep taking things step by step, thinking race by race. I love Motegi, it's a track with strong braking and strong acceleration. You must work very hard for the anti-wheelie, handling with the throttle, braking stability and good drive out of the corners. We had a good race there last year and we will work hard with the team to be as competitive as possible". |
|
 |
| |
| CASEY STONER – World Championship Position: 3rd with 186 points |
|
|
| |
| "It's going to be great to see all my team and get back on my bike in Motegi this weekend. The last 6 weeks have been pretty tough for me, I've had to sit around and rest my ankle, get some physio and try to occupy my time - thankfully I've had Ally around to keep me occupied. I've been watching the races at home, I felt bad for Dani in Misano, but these things can happen - as they did for Jorge in Assen. The Motegi circuit is very stop-start with a lot of hard braking and accelerating, it's pretty tough on the body and physically quite demanding. The first session on Friday will be crucial to see how my ankle feels in the boot and the degree of movement I have and pressure I can apply". |
|
| Rider Statistics - Dani Pedrosa |
|
Age
|
27 |
|
Racing number
|
26
|
|
Race machine
|
Honda RC213V
|
|
Date of birth
|
September 29, 1985
|
|
Birthplace
|
Sabadell, Spain |
|
Height
|
160cm
|
|
Weight
|
51kg
|
|
Hobbies
|
Cycling, Music
|
|
Grand Prix debut
|
2001, 125cc Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
|
|
First GP win
|
2002, 125cc Dutch Grand Prix, Assen
|
|
GP wins
|
41: 8 x 125cc, 15 x 250cc, 18 x MotoGP
|
|
GP podiums
|
108: 17 x 125cc, 24 x 250cc, 67 x MotoGP
|
|
GP pole positions
|
40: 9 x 125cc, 9 x 250cc, 22 x MotoGP
|
|
World Championships
|
3: 1 x 125cc (2003); 2 x 250cc (2004, 2005)
|
| Previous results at Motegi |
2011 1st (MotoGP), 2010 DNS (MotoGP), 2009 3rd (MotoGP), 2008 3rd (MotoGP), 2007 DNF (MotoGP), 2006 7th (MotoGP), 2005 2nd (250cc), 2004 1st (250cc), 2003 6th (125cc), 2002 1st (125cc), 2001 3rd (125cc) |
|
|
| Rider Statistics - Casey Stoner |
|
Age |
26 |
|
Racing number |
1 |
|
Race machine |
Honda RC213V |
|
Date of birth |
October 16th, 1985 |
|
Birthplace |
Southport, Australia |
|
Height |
171cm |
|
Weight |
58kg |
|
Hobbies |
Fishing |
| Grand Prix debut |
2001, 125cc British Grand Prix, Donington Park |
| First GP win |
2003, 125cc Valencia Grand Prix, Valencia |
| GP wins |
44: 2 x 125cc, 5 x 250cc, 37 x MotoGP |
| GP podiums |
86: 10 x 125cc, 10 x 250cc, 66 x MotoGP |
| GP pole positions |
42: 2 x 125cc, 2 x 250cc, 38 x MotoGP |
| World Championships |
2: MotoGP (2011, 2007) |
| Previous results at Motegi |
2011 3rd (MotoGP), 2010 1st (MotoGP), 2009 4th (MotoGP), 2008 2nd (MotoGP), 2007 6th (MotoGP), 2006 DNF (MotoGP), 2005 3rd (250cc), 2004 DNF (125cc), 2003 2nd (125cc), 2002 17th (250cc) |
|
|
| 1 |
Jorge Lorenzo |
290 pts |
SPA |
YAMAHA |
Yamaha Factory Racing Team |
| 2 |
Dani Pedrosa |
257 pts |
SPA |
HONDA |
Repsol Honda Team |
| 3 |
Casey Stoner |
186 pts |
AUS |
HONDA |
Repsol Honda Team |
| 4 |
Andrea Dovizioso |
179 pts |
ITA |
YAMAHA |
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 |
| 5 |
Cal Crutchlow |
135 pts |
GBR |
YAMAHA |
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 |
| 6 |
Valentino Rossi |
128 pts |
ITA |
DUCATI |
Ducati Team |
| 7 |
Alvaro Bautista |
128 pts |
SPA |
HONDA |
San Carlo Honda Gresini |
| 8 |
Stefan Bradl |
115 pts |
GER |
HONDA |
LCR Honda MotoGP |
| 9 |
Nicky Hayden |
93 pts |
USA |
DUCATI |
Ducati Team |
| 10 |
Ben Spies |
88 pts |
USA |
YAMAHA |
Yamaha Factory Racing Team |
| 11 |
Hector Barbera |
64 pts |
SPA |
DUCATI |
Pramac Racing |
| 12 |
Randy De Puniet |
53 pts |
FRA |
ART |
Aspar Team MotoGP |
| 13 |
Aleix Espargaro |
51 pts |
ESP |
ART |
Aspar Team MotoGP |
| 14 |
Karel Abraham |
32 pts |
CZE |
DUCATI |
Cardion AB Motoracing |
| 15 |
Yonny Hernandez |
28 pts |
COL |
BQR-FTR |
BQR |
| 16 |
Michelle Pirro |
25 pts |
ITA |
HONDA |
San Carlo Honda Gresini |
| 17 |
Colin Edwards |
22 pts |
USA |
SUTER |
NGM Mobile Forward Racing |
| 18 |
James Ellison |
19 pts |
GBR |
ART |
Paul Bird Racing |
| 19 |
Jonathan Rea |
17 pts |
GBR |
HONDA |
Repsol Honda Team |
| 20 |
Mattia Pasini |
13 pts |
ITA |
ART |
Speed Master |
| 21 |
Danillo Petrucci |
11 pts |
ITA |
IODA |
Ioda Racing Project |
| 22 |
Ivan Silva |
11 pts |
SPA |
BQR-FTR |
BQR |
| 23 |
Toni Elías |
10 pts |
SPA |
DUCATI |
Pramac Racing |
| 24 |
Steve Rapp |
2 pts |
USA |
N/A |
Attack Performance |
| 25 |
David Salom |
1 pt |
SPA |
BQR-FTR |
BQR |
| 26 |
Franco Battaini |
0 pts |
ITA |
DUCATI |
Ducati Team |
| 27 |
Chris Vermeulen |
0 pts |
AUS |
SUTER |
NGM Mobile Forward Racing |
| 28 |
Aaron Yates |
0 pts |
USA |
N/A |
GP Tech |
|
|
| Circuit information |
| First race |
1999 |
| GPs held |
13 |
| Laps |
24 |
| Race distance |
115.224km / 71.592miles |
| Track length |
4.801km / 2.983miles |
| Track width |
12-15m |
| Longest straight |
0.762km / 0.473miles |
| Corners |
14 (8 right, 6 left) |
| Pole position |
Left |
|
|
 |
|
|
| Circuit records |
| Pole position |
1m45.267s (164.188km/h) Casey Stoner (Honda, 2011) |
| Race lap |
1m46.090s (162.914km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2011) |
| Race time |
42m47.481s (161.561km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2011) |
| MotoGP Wins |
3 (Loris Capirossi 2005-07) |
| 2010 Winner |
Casey Stoner (Ducati) |
| 2011 Winner |
Dani Pedrosa (Honda) |
|
|
