MotoGP 2007 Round 2
Jerez, Spain
March 25, 2007

Text and Photos Courtesy MotoGP, Kawasaki, Suzuki Racing, Yamaha Racing and World Superbike.  Edited by webBikeWorld.com staff.

Race Results
Valentino Rossi took on all challengers for the victory at the MotoGP of Spain and in so doing placed himself in the number one position in the charts.

The five time MotoGP World Champion was never troubled after passing pole sitter Dani Pedrosa midway through the opening lap, and ended his five-race longest ever winless streak with a masterful display of how to lead a Grand Prix.

"The Doctor" has won at Jerez on four previous occasions, and marked victory number five with a special celebration alongside his fan club.  Decked out in skittle costumes, the group fell at the Italian’s feet as he gave them an underarm bowl on his parade lap.

Hyped up as a battle between Rossi and Pedrosa for dominance of the Spanish circuit, the race never really became a duel between the two riders.  As the Fiat Yamaha rider continually upped his race pace, Pedrosa was left with little to do but follow his rival into second.  Whilst clearly unable to keep up with Rossi, he was likewise unfazed by the presence of third placed Colin Edwards nearly three seconds behind him.  For the "Texas Tornado" the race marked a welcome return to the podium after a strong ride.

Aiming to give the Spanish fans another reason to be happy, Toni Elias was right up there with Rossi’s fastest speeds, even though he started further down the grid.  The exciting rider finished in fourth after some excellent overtaking, just edging out Casey Stoner who couldn’t repeat his dominance from two weeks ago.  Stoner was once again mature in his overtaking choices, and was rewarded with some valuable points for the World Championship.

Carlos Checa, starting from the front row for the first time since the 2005 Portuguese Grand Prix, rounded off the top six, ahead of reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden.  Hayden made a fantastic start, but looked uncomfortable and was unable to get near the leaders and dropped off towards the end of the race.

 Marco Melandri, Chris Vermeulen and Shinya Nakano completed the top ten, while John Hopkins suffered a crash on lap 16, having just overtaken Hayden for fourth place, but picked the Suzuki GSV-R800 up to finish the race, albeit in 19th.  The brave Anglo-American was once again racing despite pain in his broken right hand.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1stTime: 45'53.340:  "After the situation at this race last year, this is much, much better!  Our first priority today was to get points and I knew that to win I would have to ride at the maximum, but today my Yamaha really flew and I was able to do a great race.  It feels like a long time since I last won and this is a great emotion and a very special victory for me, especially in Jerez in front of this great crowd.  Qatar was good but to taste victory again is a wonderful feeling."

"I got a great start, didn't make any mistakes and had a good battle with Pedrosa, who we knew would be the danger today.  I'm really happy for Colin too and to have both Yamahas on the podium shows that we're in good shape for what's going to be a long season.  Now we have two race tracks which might be difficult for us so it's very important to leave here leading the championship."

Colin Edwards - Position: 3rdTime: +2.701:  "On Friday morning you wouldn't have thought we would end up on the podium, but here we are and it was a good race for me.  I've got to say an enormous thank you to all my guys because they worked non-stop all weekend and came up with some pretty good solutions to the problems we had.  Michelin also had something up their sleeve for us and seemed to know what would work and they were proved right - they've done a good job for us this weekend."

"I got a good start and my best move was getting past Checa so quickly; I knew I had to find some clear air and try to hang onto the back of Valentino and Pedrosa. I made a couple of small mistakes and they were able to pull away from me a bit which was a pity, but my bike was working well so I was able to keep a pretty good pace throughout.  Towards the end I could see Elias had appeared behind me and I didn't like the idea of him getting spurred on by his home fans and trying to snatch a podium, so I really had to keep hammering away! The last few laps were a little hairy at times as I started to slide but anyway we managed to make it and it feels great to be up here on the podium again."

Qualifying
Pedrosa on pole with Rossi second means a fantastic race ahead!

Valentino Rossi will start from second position for tomorrow's Grand Prix of Spain in Jerez after an exciting and extremely close qualifying battle today, while his team-mate Colin Edwards will be just behind him in fourth having lost out on third position in the dying moments of the session.

It is Rossi's eighth consecutive top-three start for Yamaha, the Italian having started from the front row in the final six races of 2006 and at this season's opener in Qatar.

After struggling for grip once again this morning and finishing free practice way down the order in 18th position, it was clear from the start this afternoon that warmer temperatures and the latest changes made to the setting of his M1 had improved Rossi's package and he quickly posted his fastest time of the weekend so far.

Edwards and his crew had made drastic changes to his bike setting overnight and he too showed a marked improvement to his race pace both this morning and again this afternoon, as he and Rossi used the improved track conditions in their quest to find the right tire package ahead of tomorrow's 27-lap race.

With eight minutes to go Rossi moved into pole position with the first of his two Michelin qualifying tires, only to be ousted by his team-mate less than a minute later as the Texan set his first flying lap.  The last five minutes saw the usual flurry of quick laps and position-changing amongst the leading protagonists before Rossi took the top slot once again with a lap of 1'39.453, before being pushed into second by Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Honda), who set the eventual pole time of 1'39.402.

Edwards' final lap seemed sure to give him a front-row slot alongside his team-mate but he fell victim to another local favorite as Carlos Checa (Honda) claimed third in the last seconds of the session.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: 1'39.453 Laps: 26:  "It's been an up and down weekend for us so it's good that we've achieved our number one goal of getting onto the front row.  It's going to be very important for tomorrow's race I think.  It was a good qualifying session and my lap was quite good, but we know it's possible to be a lot quicker because last month at the test I was more than one second faster!  We knew it would be difficult to match the 1'38.394 I did then however, because then we had four qualifying tires and with the new tire restrictions now we only have two."

"With the race tire we were struggling quite a bit yesterday and this morning it was even worse, so we were a bit worried, but we looked at the situation together with Michelin and found a good solution and this afternoon we were in much better shape.  I think tires are going to be the biggest issue tomorrow and the last ten laps especially are going to be very hard and difficult for everyone. I think it's going to be an exciting race for the fans!"

Jerez Circuit
Jerez could barely provide a starker contrast to the scenes at Losail, Qatar, the site of the first MotoGP race of the 2007 season.

With its rolling green Andalusian hills providing the ideal setting for a natural amphitheatre, Jerez has become known as the Spanish Mecca of motorcycle racing, with upwards of 120,000 fans making the annual pilgrimage.

The track itself challenges the riders to pick the most effective racing line, with few hard braking points and little opportunity to fully open the throttle.  The 4.423km layout features regular and quick changes in direction, meaning that the rider requires a responsive overall set-up and good grip at maximum lean angles.

Race Preview
The first European race of the season got off to a slightly shaky start for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards today, with the Fiat Yamaha Team riders struggling for rear grip at the Andalucían circuit of Jerez.

The Italian and the American finished the day in sixth and ninth respectively and the weekend promises to be a close battle, with the top 12 riders all within half a second of each other after two free practice sessions.

Despite clear skies and sunshine, this morning's first practice was run in cold temperatures and, with the track temperature reaching a maximum of only 15 degrees, the conditions did not provide the riders with much chance to really get to grips with bike and tire set-up.

This afternoon was considerably warmer and both Rossi and Edwards improved their times and their general race-pace, but neither rider was able to find the perfect tire combination with the current setting on their M1 and will hope to make considerable improvements tomorrow.  The best time of the day was recorded by Honda rider and Spanish favorite Carlos Checa, who set a best lap of 1'40.851.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 6th, Time: 1'41.198, Laps: 52:  "Today was quite difficult for us, compared to how we began in Qatar!  Unfortunately the situation with the tire is not perfect, we don't have enough grip and the problem is made worse because the condition of the track isn't so good either.  We have a lot less grip than we had at the test here so now we need to work more on the setting of the bike in order to improve the grip with the tires we have."

"This morning the problem was a lot worse and we were quite worried after the first session, but we've worked very hard today and the situation this afternoon is a lot better.  Anyway we're not that far away at the end of the day, only sixth, and all the riders are very close together so I don't think we need to worry yet.  It's clear that some of our rivals are very strong and it's going to be a hard battle, so we need to make the most of the time we have left.  I hope that the track grip will improve tomorrow as more rubber is laid down and I hope it will also be a little bit warmer in the morning so we can work properly during free practice."

Colin Edwards - Position: 9th, Time: 1'41.305, Laps: 52:  "We've definitely got a little bit of a problem to deal with and I can't say we're in the same shape we were in at this stage of the Qatar race!  e know what tire worked here at the test and the bike is basically the same, with a few improvements, but the conditions here today are pretty different and it seems things aren't quite working the way we expected."

"The main problem is that we can't get the rear to hold on and we're just sliding around a bit.  It's disappointing because at the test here our grip and our speed through the corners was our best thing, but here it seems we've lost that a bit and we're not entirely sure why at the moment! We've tried quite a few different tires but we couldn't find something that worked perfectly today.  We're obviously restricted with our tire choice because of the new rules, so now we're going to need to make some changes to the bike in order to get it to work with what we've got.  The bike feels great and I'm happy with it, it's just a matter of grip.  We've got a lot of ideas and we'll have a good chat about it tonight and start again in the morning.  I am sure we'll be able to come up with something!"

Kawasaki MotoGP Practice Report
Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Randy de Puniet and Olivier Jacque were left looking for inspiration at the conclusion of today's free practice at Jerez, after problems during both hour-long track sessions left them down in 14th and 19th place respectively.

The Kawasaki Racing Team enjoyed a successful three-day test at the Jerez circuit less than one month ago, but the change in track temperature and surface conditions between then and now meant that both riders were struggling to find useable grip around the tight and technical 4.423 km track during today's two, one-hour free practice sessions.

After the disappointment of failing to finish in the opening race, de Puniet worked tirelessly today to find a solution to his rear traction problems.  The 26-year-old Frenchman worked his way through a number of different combinations of chassis and suspension set-up, as he sought a solution to the problem of the rear tire spinning up under acceleration.

His efforts, combined with a rise in track temperature, paid dividends during this afternoon's free practice period, with the Kawasaki pilot posting a lap time more than a second faster than this morning's best effort.

A lack of rear traction was also a problem for de Puniet's Kawasaki teammate, Olivier Jacque. In addition to the problems at the rear, the 33-year-old Frenchman also struggled with a lack of confidence in the front end of his Ninja ZX-RR.

A slight improvement to the set-up of the bike meant that Jacque was able to test the tire options available late in this afternoon's session, but will hold off on making a decision about a race tire until he's had another chance to work with his crew to refine the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR during the final free practice session tomorrow.

Confident that track conditions will be better suited to their Ninja ZX-RR machines tomorrow, both Kawasaki pilots will continue to work on set-up, before switching to qualifying tires at the end of the second track session in order to secure a good grid position for Sunday's 27-lap Spanish Grand Prix.

Randy de Puniet - 14th - 50 Laps - Best Lap 1'41.666:  "Well this weekend definitely didn’t start as we hoped or expected.  It was a hard practice day today, as we experienced a lot of problems with the rear.  The bike was sliding a lot in almost every corner. We tried different tires from the choice we have for this weekend, but the performance was not what we were hoping for.  The bike improved a lot in the afternoon and, looking at the timesheets, the gap with respect to the front guys is not so big.  We are still confident, as we just need to adapt to the situation and we know our bike is capable of going well here."

Olivier Jacque - 19th - 48 Laps - Best Lap 1'42.402:  "This morning we didn’t have any rear grip at all. I was expecting it to be better in the afternoon, as the track temperature increased, but even though it improved a little, it was not enough.  The rear wheel kept spinning a lot and I had no traction, which prevented me carrying good corner speed.  We tried different suspension settings, mainly on the rear, but also on the front as well. It looked to be better, although we need to confirm it tomorrow.  The new engine mapping seems to make the power delivery friendlier at the bottom, but it still needs to be adjusted for full throttle."

Suzuki MotoGP Practice Report
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen recorded the seventh and eighth fastest times respectively during today’s free practice sessions for the Jerez Grand Prix on Sunday.

Hopkins (1’41.245, 49 laps) is still suffering from his hand injury, but put together some fast laps on his Suzuki GSV-R as he worked with his team to find the best combination of Bridgestone race tires to match the new 800cc bike’s performance around the 4.4km track.  Hopkins missed the IRTA test at Jerez earlier in the year – due to the injuries he sustained at Qatar – and had to take a gamble on the correct tires to use because he had no data as to how the new bike would perform on this circuit.

Vermeulen is also not at full fitness this weekend, as Suzuki’s Australian star is suffering from a strong head cold.  This didn’t deter the 24-year-old as he went about his work with the usual professional manner and saw his lap times reduce consistently throughout the day.  His time of 1’41.305 from his 49 laps was the fastest time he had ever been round Jerez on race tires.

Team Test Rider Kousuke Akiyoshi produced the biggest improvement of any rider at the Spanish track today.  He managed to take over one-and-a-half seconds off his lap-times from the morning to the afternoon session.  His best time of 1’42.549 gave him 20th place overall, on this his first-ever European Grand Prix practice day.

Today’s practice was held in dry sunny conditions with the air temperatures reaching 20°C. The fastest time was set by local Spanish favorite Carlos Checa on a Honda.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has one more practice session on Saturday morning before qualifying gets underway in the afternoon. Sunday’s race will be over 27 laps and the light will turn to go at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT).

John Hopkins:  “We’re off to a pretty good start for the weekend. We are working through the tires with Bridgestone as I had to throw the dice and take a bit of a gamble with which tires to choose for the new tire rule.  I never made it here for the IRTA test so I didn’t have a lot of information.  It seems like what we’ve got is pretty good, but we are still going to work on some settings to get the best grip we can.  I still have a bit of pain and this is a more physical track than Qatar so I am really feeling it.  But I’ll ride around that and I am expecting to have a pretty good weekend. Everything has got off to a good start and if we get that bit more grip and get a good qualifying position tomorrow anything can happen come Sunday!”

Chris Vermeulen:  “The weather has changed a bit for this weekend and it was quite cold this morning. That made it a bit difficult to anything on the track in the beginning because the air and track temperatures were so cool.  We made some changes with the bike and tried a different tire this afternoon that gave us a bit more grip.  I was consistently going quicker and after we made some small changes to the suspension I managed to do my fastest ever lap around here on race tires.  The bike is feeling pretty good and I can do one minute 41 second laps quite easily, so if I can do that come Sunday we might be quite near to the front!”