This week the 2012 MotoGP World Championship heads to the south of Spain for the Jerez Grand Prix, the second round on the calendar.
Following the positive Championship debut with two podium finishes at Losail circuit - second place for Dani Pedrosa and third for Casey Stoner - the Repsol Honda riders arrive in Jerez confident and look forward to repeating the same good potential they showed in pre-season at this track.
The pre-season tests are a good reference to start working from this weekend. Casey Stoner managed to set the fastest lap (1'38.780) while Dani Pedrosa, lapped under his circuit record in Jerez (1'39.731 in 2010) with a best lap time of 1'39.157 and did a race simulation maintaining a high pace.
Dani Pedrosa, who will be making his 100th premier class start on Sunday, has visited the podium in Jerez in the last seven years with two victories (2005 and 2008) and five second positions, while the best result for Casey is a third place in 2009.
Dani Pedrosa
"The pre season test at Jerez was positive for us, we had good feelings on the bike and finished happy, so I'm really looking forward to going there for the Grand Prix this weekend. We need to be very focused and have a good qualifying session in order to start the race in a good position. I love the Jerez circuit and the passionate support of the Spanish fans, I hope the grandstands are full again as it adds to the unique atmosphere there. We had a great race in Qatar and to start the season on the podium is important, but we cannot relax, we will be aiming for another strong race this weekend".
Casey Stoner
"After a difficult race in Qatar, I'm looking forward to Jerez. We had a very good pre-season test there, it's a track that hasn't been so good for me in the past so the fact we were able to hold a good pace there in testing has given us a lot of confidence. We still have some issues that we really need to resolve with the bike especially the chattering in the entrance and exit of the corner, when we solve these we believe we will have a very competitive package. Since Qatar I've been working on the arm pump issue I experienced in the race and it's definitely feeling better, we've treated it the same way as when I had it in 2010 at Silverstone so I'm hoping it won't be a problem for us this weekend".
Repsol Honda Press Release
Repsol Honda Press Release
