Final round of the season for KONICA MINOLTA Honda in Spain
KONICA MINOLTA Honda and Shinya Nakano return back to Europe
this weekend for the final round of the 2007 MotoGP championship.
This last round of the 18-race championship spells the end
of a tough and gruelling season for KONICA MINOLTA Honda,
so the Team and their 30-year-old rider will be hoping to
get the best result possible to end the season on a high note.
The Valencia track is a tight and twisty circuit, which is
asymmetrically laid out with many more left-hand corners than
right-hand ones. The nature of the 2.764-mile track means
the race is hard on tyres and the front tyre choice is particularly
important thanks to the number of hard-braking corner entries.
The season finale is always a special event and the Ricardo
Tormo circuit forms a natural amphitheatre making it one of
the best circuits for spectators to see MotoGP machines in
action.
Gianluca Montiron – Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA
Honda
“I think after a hard year we finally arrive at the
end of the championship and we have to consider that on balance
the results haven’t been satisfying for us, this is
for several reasons, but this is racing and we have to deal
with this. So, we now have the possibility to make a better
result here in Valencia and looking at the final race we want
to give satisfaction to our partners and sponsors. I think
the Ricardo Tormo circuit is not such a technical circuit
and probably the riders will be closer together there because
the tight configuration of the circuit will not permit a big
gap between each rider. I hope we have the chance with Shinya
to stay close to the first ten riders and I hope Shinya has
the ability and confidence for the final race to really make
a maximum effort which will make for a better result for us
in our last race of the season.”
Shinya Nakano – Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda
“I think both the Team and myself want to do something
special for the last race of the season. I love the Valencia
track itself as there are some very challenging corners and
the layout is enjoyable. Compared to the last two races in
Australia and Malaysia, conditions will be different again.
We are more likely to see colder conditions and this will
mean we will need to find a good tyre for the race. This has
been a difficult year for us all in the KONICA MINOLTA Honda
Team, but I believe we can do something better this weekend
at Valencia.”
Giulio Bernardelle – Technical Director, KONICA
MINOLTA Honda
“At Valencia we hope to have some good material to work
with from Michelin and this should give us some potential
for the last race of the season. Valencia is a very different
track compared to Sepang and Phillip Island. Normally it is
not so difficult for the rider as the result comes from the
machine setting and the tyre choice. We hope to have a good
possibility to make a good job this weekend and we are hoping
that our situation should be better. The whole Team are hoping
to make a good result in this, the last race of the season.”
|
