TITLE CHASE HEADS NORTH AS CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM TRAVEL TO JAPAN
 The
final leg of an exhausting Grand Prix triple-header takes
place in Japan this weekend as the chase for the MotoGP World
Championship heads north from Australia with Camel Yamaha
Team rider Valentino Rossi now the closest he has been to
the series lead since the third round of the season in Turkey.
Third place for the Italian at Phillip Island on Sunday moved
him to within 21 points of Nicky Hayden (Honda), with this
weekend’s event at the Motegi circuit in the Tochigi
prefecture providing another opportunity to cut that gap even
further before the series returns to Europe for two final
races in Portugal and Spain.
As well as lifting him up to second place in the championship,
Rossi’s 89th top-three career finish in the premier
class also moved him ahead of Giacomo Agostini in the all-time
podiums list, with just Mick Doohan above him on 95. The 27-year-old’s
goal is to add to that tally with his 59th victory at a circuit
where he has already celebrated on the top step in 2001.
The statistics don’t make such good reading for Rossi’s
Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, whose impressive run
of point-scoring finishes ended on 34 in Australia –
just three short of another of Doohan’s records. Edwards
has a best finish of sixth at Motegi but he is doubly determined
to improve on that in front of Yamaha’s army of Japanese
fans, who last saw him retiring from the Suzuka 8 Hour race
with a mechanical problem in July.
VALENTINO ROSSI: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Valentino Rossi admits that Motegi is not high on his list
of favourite destinations although that opinion could easily
be changed by another top result on Sunday. The Italian has
bounced back from a series of early-season setbacks to hit
top form in recent weeks and with three rounds remaining he
still has a realistic chance of wrestling the title from Hayden’s
grasp.
“Honestly it’s not a track I like very much and
I haven’t had such a good time there in the past, but
we’re going to have to do our best at Motegi,”
says Rossi, who didn’t finish last year’s race
after a collision with Marco Melandri. “Three races
in a row like this is very hard, especially with this one
as the third! We need to make the most of the practice time
there because it is not a great track for us. Last year especially
it was not a good weekend; we had a lot of problems during
the practices and then the race result was very bad!
“A gap of 21 points is still a lot but it’s not
impossible so we can still try. Motegi is going to be a very
important race for us, firstly because we know it’s
going to be difficult and secondly because we have to try
to get more points from Hayden in order to stay in the fight.
My M1 has been pretty good recently and I think we’re
going there in good shape, so hopefully we can make the most
of the weekend and go back to Europe with an even better shot
at the title.”
 COLIN
EDWARDS: POSITIVE THINKING
After enjoying the support of family and friends in Australia,
Colin Edwards will again benefit from huge backing this weekend
thanks to his army of Japanese fans. Twice a winner of the
Suzuka 8 Hour race, one of those alongside Rossi, Edwards
enjoyed plenty of success in Japan during his Superbike career
and he hopes to revive the glory days by building on a good
weekend of set-up work with the YZR-M1 machine in Australia.
“I actually don’t mind Motegi too much as a track,
although I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favourites,”
says Edwards. “It’s a pretty interesting track
and I really like the four corners after the tunnel exit.
We were sixth last year, which was okay, but we did have a
few problems through the weekend to deal with which hopefully
won’t resurface this year. I’ve always enjoyed
racing in Japan and I have loads of fans there, plus there’s
always a great atmosphere so it’s generally a fun weekend.
“Phillip island was obviously really disappointing,
especially since we made such massive strides forward over
the weekend and I was finally feeling like I was back where
I should be in the way I could ride the bike. Basically I
just have to forget what happened and think about the positives
from the weekend and with any luck what worked there will
work next week and we’ll be able to get on it from the
start on Friday morning. It’s good in this way that
we’ve got another race straight away – no time
to sit around dwelling on the past!
VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 27 - Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 84 (58 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 171 (111 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole position: 43
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: 63 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike
DAVIDE BRIVIO: DESPERATE FOR POINTS
Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is expecting a tough
weekend for his riders at a circuit that has traditionally
not favoured Yamaha machinery. However, the Italian insists
that the team’s focus will not waver as they target
another victory points haul in the quest to lift the MotoGP
World Championship crown for the third successive season.
“Now we go to Motegi, which was very difficult for
us last year and is never an easy track,” admits Brivio.
“We had a lot of set-up problems and then unfortunately
Valentino crashed in the race and we came away with zero points!
This year of course we are desperate for points so we need
a very different weekend.
“Over the last few races the situation with our bike
has been pretty good, so with any luck this will be the case
even in Motegi. We know it will be difficult of course, but
we go there in good shape and ready to fight. Colin was in
great shape at Phillip Island but sadly the rain stopped him
from getting the result he deserved. We hope he won’t
have any pain remaining from his fall and that he can keep
working in the good way he was in Australia, as we all want
to see him back on top again.”
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: MOTEGI ACCORDING TO ANDREA
ZUGNA
Designed in 1997 as a test venue, Motegi has ultra-modern
facilities although the outstanding paddock is not quite matched
by the intricacies and character of a somewhat geometric circuit
layout. A bump-free surface offers good levels of grip without
being particularly abrasive, but the proliferation of second
gear turns, linked for the most part by mini-drag strips,
means braking and acceleration are the main prerequisite to
a fast lap time, and consistency the key to a good race.
“Motegi is a stop and go track so it’s very important
to be very strong and stable on the brakes,” explains
Andrea Zugna, Colin Edwards’ Data Technician. “You
need a good front fork setting and then the engine braking
setting is also very important. You also need to be strong
on the acceleration in order to be able to get away quickly,
otherwise you’re going to be passed at the next braking
point. It is quite stressful on the front tyre because of
the long braking sections, so you need the right front setting
to cope with this.
“It wasn’t a very easy weekend for Colin last
year; we didn’t really find a way for him to have enough
confidence in the front tyre for the race, so this is something
we really need to work on from Friday morning this year. The
Yamaha’s strongest point is agility so it doesn’t
necessarily play to our strengths, but the M1 worked okay
in Malaysia so we can start from this setting and hopefully
make improvements from there.”
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Pole position left
Length: 4.801 m
Width: 12-15 m
Right corners: 8
Left corners: 6
Constructed in: 1997
Motegi Lap Record: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005, 1’47.968
Motegi Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005, 1’46.363
2005 Australian Grand Prix Results:
1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 43’30.499
2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda, +1.479
3. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, +16.277
6. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +34.915
DNF: VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha
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