MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT PREVIEW
CZECH GRAND PRIX, BRNO
August 15/16/17 2008, round 12 of 18
REPSOL HONDA MEN BACK IN ACTION AT BRNO
Repsol Honda RC212V riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden
roar back into action at Brno following MotoGP’s traditional
three-weekend summer break. The Czech Grand Prix commences
the crucial second part of the MotoGP season, with just seven
of 18 races remaining, three in Europe and four outside Europe.
The sport’s 25 day recess between the US and Czech
GPs is no real holiday for the riders – Pedrosa, Hayden
and their rivals have all been working through much of the
break. Pedrosa has been recuperating from the fractured left
wrist and fractured left index finger he suffered at last
month’s German GP which prevented him from competing
in the US GP. Hayden meanwhile has been training back home
in Kentucky, USA, working to keep in prime physical condition.
The 2006 MotoGP champ also took part in the Supermoto event
at the X Games in Los Angeles. Hayden hurt his right heel
when he made a heavy landing during practice for the event
on Friday August 1 but is hopeful the injury won’t prevent
him from riding at Brno. Further details will be released
as soon as they are available.
Brno has been part of the World Championship calendar since
the mid 1960s, when the nation’s grand prix was staged
around a 10.92km/6.785 mile street circuit on the outskirts
of the city. Mike Hailwood won the 1966 and 1967 500 GPs there
on his Honda RC181 four, but eventually the circuit was deemed
too dangerous and hosted its last premier-class GP in 1977.
It took a decade before the current Brno circuit was completed.
Honda has enjoyed great success at this fast, undulating circuit
which features many tricky downhill corners that require a
perfect chassis set-up. Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Tadayuki
Okada, Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau have all won races
with Honda at the modern Brno venue.
The Repsol Honda Team will remain at Brno for crucial post-race
tests, during which Pedrosa is likely to try the pneumatic-valve
RC212V engine that Hayden been using since June’s British
GP.
Dani Pedrosa
“The holiday period gave me a good chance to relax and
recover, so I hope I will be fine for Brno. When I returned
from Laguna Seca my doctor told me I needed a week and a half
of complete rest. I couldn't train so I spent an enjoyable
few days in Mallorca, disconnecting from everything and resting
both my hand and foot. I had the stitches removed from my
hand in Barcelona and then I started rehabilitation. The hand
still hurts but the wrist has good mobility and the fingers
are no longer swollen. The foot is still taped, just to avoid
rough movements. I started training last week, mostly on my
bicycle. I hope I can have a good race at Brno to start the
second part of the championship in the best possible way.
Brno is a good circuit, with some interesting uphill and downhill
sections, very much in the style of the classic circuits.
The track is medium speed to very high speed with some good
corners and fast straights. It’s the kind of circuit
that demands a gentle, fine riding style, you don’t
need to be aggressive when taking the corners. It has just
been resurfaced, so we will have to wait and see what the
grip is like. The atmosphere is always great, with a big and
enthusiastic crowd on race day. Getting the set-up right for
this track is always a delicate operation, aiming to get the
best compromise between cornering ability and braking stability.”
Nicky Hayden
“Hopefully I’ll be fit for Brno. I didn’t
crash, I just landed wrong. I’m not sure if my foot
came off the ‘peg or what, but it feels pretty fragile.
I’m pretty bummed out about it because I want to get
out there and finish this season strong. Also, I can’t
wait to try out the new surface at Brno. The last couple of
years the surface has gotten quite old, not really bumpy but
just so abrasive and cracked, so I think with a brand new
surface the track is going to be awesome. I heard they didn’t
just reseal it, or just put something on top, they did it
the right way and started over. That’s going to be crucial
for tyre wear, so we’ll probably have a bigger range
of tyres than we normally do, both front and rear, to make
sure we’ve got something. Brno is quite fast and open.
It’ll be the first time we’ve taken this new bike
– with the pneumatic valves – to any place where
we can really stretch its legs and see what she’s really
got. Brno’s got a little bit of everything, it’s
not the kind of track where you can just set up the bike for
just one thing. Good traction is certainly important to get
off those corners good because there’s a few big straightaways,
especially the uphill run to the final left and right. You
also need something that’s stable on the brakes, because
there’s a lot of hard braking.”
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