TRANSATLANTIC CHALLENGE BECKONS FOR CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM
Just five days after their stunning showing at the Sachsenring
circuit in Germany the Camel Yamaha Team will be back on track
on the other side of the Atlantic as the MotoGP World Championship
takes another whirlwind trip across the globe from the east
of Europe to the west coast of the USA. Following an absence
of almost a decade, the Laguna Seca circuit near Monterey
in California plays host to the world’s premier motorcycle
race series for the second consecutive season and represents
a crucial date with destiny for both Valentino Rossi and Colin
Edwards.
Last season both riders finished on the podium, an ideal
way to celebrate Yamaha’s 50th Anniversary and a fitting
reward for the factory’s role in bringing the sport
back to the continent. This time, however, nothing less than
a victory will satisfy the Italian and the American, who both
have their own agendas as they tackle one of the most important
races of the season so far.
For Rossi the eleventh round of seventeen represents another
key opportunity to close the gap to series leader Nicky Hayden
(Honda) and provides a chance to strike a major psychological
blow on the Kentucky rider, who used his explicit local knowledge
of the circuit to take victory last season. However, crucial
data gathered by Rossi and his team in that race, as well
as track modifications that have taken place since then in
the interest of safety, have levelled the playing field and
the reigning World Champion is confident the advantage can
swing in his favour.
The goal for Edwards is to take his first ever victory in
MotoGP racing after coming desperately close in the Dutch
TT earlier this season. The American has shown flashes of
winning potential this season and he would like nothing more
than to finally savour the top step of the podium at his home
Grand Prix before heading to Japan with an identical target
at the prestigious Suzuka 8-hour race.
VALENTINO ROSSI: STRONG FROM THE START
Following on from his remarkable victory in Germany, Valentino
Rossi is looking forward to his second visit to California
thanks to an enjoyable and promising Laguna Seca debut one
year ago. The reigning MotoGP World Champion was the first
non-American rider across the line as he took third place
in his first ever USGP but this year he doesn’t plan
to have anybody in front of him at all as he looks to sign
off for the summer with another maximum points haul.
“Even though I didn’t know the track last year
I was able to follow Nicky for many laps and then Colin too,
so I learnt a lot from both of them,” explains Rossi.
“By the end of the race I was getting stronger and I
actually set my best time on the last lap so I hope that this
year we can be strong from the start and this time beat the
Americans! We had some difficulties with the bike in Germany
and we don't have time to make many big changes before this
weekend, but hopefully the good setting we found for the race
on Sunday and the data we have from last year will be enough.
“The latest modifications to the track will make a
difference and we will see how they are when we get there.
After last year we discussed everything with the Safety Commission
and we made some more suggestions to improve the track, because
really it was not at the level of the rest of the championship.
It’s okay for Superbikes but we are coming into the
corners 40km faster, so it was necessary to make some more
changes, especially at turn one. Now we have to wait to see
if it is better and safer this year.”
COLIN EDWARDS: VICTORY STILL THE TARGET
Colin Edwards is approaching the second home Grand Prix of
his career with his focus completely set on taking victory,
despite his set-up troubles with the YZR-M1 in Germany. After
finishing second to Nicky Hayden in Laguna last year and battling
with the same rider for victory at Assen in Holland earlier
this season - only to lose out in the final corner –
conceding ground to his compatriot is a scenario the Texan
does not plan on repeating as the pair tussle for home glory
this time around.
“Before Sachsenring I said that I am not hoping to
win at Laguna Seca, I am expecting to win, and that remains
the case,” affirms Edwards, who will be in Los Angeles
on Tuesday to take part in a MotoGP bike parade along Hollywood
Boulevard before attending the screening of the new MotoGP
movie ‘The Doctor, The Tornado and The Kentucky Kid’,
in which he stars.
“We had our problems in Germany but we also had problems
at Catalunya earlier in the season and seven days later I
was fighting to win at Assen. It seems the bike that we have
works at some circuits and not so well at others so, like
Assen, Laguna will be a bit of a shot in the dark. One thing
for sure is that I’m going to fight and barge and do
whatever it takes to win. If it comes down to a scrap
between the Americans, Hayden and I, then I know I can come
out on top this time. Hopefully the bike will work as well
as it did at Assen and if it does than I definitely won’t
make the same mistakes.”
VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 27 Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 83 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 166 (107 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: 59 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike
DAVIDE BRIVIO: DOUBLE TOP THE TARGET
Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is confident that
both riders can take the role of protagonists in what promises
to be another groundbreaking step for the sport’s popularity
in America. Brivio watched Edwards and Rossi finish on the
podium in last year’s inaugural event and he is hopeful
of a repeat performance on Sunday – this time with one
of the pair on the top step.
“Last year both our riders were on the podium and the
target is the same this time, but in better positions,”
says Brivio. “The competition in MotoGP is getting tougher
and tougher as the season goes on but we need to keep working
as we are now because there is a long way to go. With six
rounds left after the summer it would be nice to go on holiday
with the psychological boost of victory at Laguna Seca.
“We know that Nicky Hayden is fast at this circuit
but this is the challenge. We are all in racing because we
enjoy the battle and on the evidence of what we saw last year
I think both our riders can be up there giving Nicky a hard
time this Sunday. We’re going there with great confidence
after Valentino’s win in Germany and I think Laguna
comes at the perfect time for Colin, who needs to get back
on the podium. It is only a few days but for him and for us
the race can’t come soon enough.”
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: LAGUNA ACCORDING TO DANIELE
ROMAGNOLI
Famed, feared and revered for the world-famous ‘Corkscrew’
corner, the Laguna Seca circuit near Monterey in California
lived up to its billing as one of the most exciting circuits
on the calendar when MotoGP visited for the first time ever
last season. With only a few short straights, a series of
fast and sweeping corners and elevation changes that leave
front wheels frequently spinning through thin air, the 3.602km
circuit provides the ideal viewing spectacle for fans but
is surprisingly straightforward when it comes to machine set-up.
“Actually Laguna was not as technical as we thought
it might be when we visited for the first time last year,”
explains Daniele Romagnoli, Chief Engineer for Colin Edwards.
“It is a special circuit because there are almost no
straights so there is no need to use the full gear range or
the maximum power of the bike. Power delivery is much more
important than top-end power and it must be smooth and easy
for the rider to manage. At the same time the circuit is very
‘up and down’ so the chassis is important because
the bike needs to keep turning in several different conditions.
You need good traction when the bike is leaned over –
especially at the end of the main straight when the bike is
at an angle at high speed and in the Corkscrew. The Corkscrew
also requires stable suspension and good performance under
braking because, as we saw with Colin last year, it is a place
he likes to overtake.
“Honestly it was quite easy to find a good set-up for
Colin last year. His experience at the circuit meant that
we already had some good information for the gear and suspension
settings before we arrived. This time things are a little
different because, even though we can dial in the same settings
on the bike, the tyres have changed a lot from last year so
we will need to work on something new to adapt the chassis
and the suspension. We had a difficult weekend finding the
right setting in Germany but Colin will not let this affect
him and we will come out fighting like we did at Assen.”
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Pole position right Lenght: 3610 m Width: 15 m Right corners:
4 Left corners: 7 Constructed in: 1957 Last modified: 2006
Laguna Seca Lap Record: Colin Edwards (Yamaha)
2005, 1’23.915 Laguna Seca Best Lap: Nicky Hayden (Honda)
2005, 1’22.670
2005 United States Grand Prix Results
1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 45’15.374 2. COLIN EDWARDS
(USA) Yamaha, +1.941 3. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, +2.312
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