planetearth
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Number of posts : 3271
Registration date : 2007-02-03
 |  Subject: Pedrosa's big weekend.  Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:49 am | |
| - Quote :
- Dani Pedrosa may not acknowledge it publicly, but the 21-year-old home hero must be aware that many of the 250,000 Spanish fans heading for Jerez this weekend are expecting to see him battle pre-season favourite Valentino Rossi for victory.
Although it was Pedrosa's former 250cc rival Casey Stoner who triumphed at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, the lack of a long straight for the new Ducati to stretch its powerful legs means that - as in pre-season testing at Jerez - Rossi and Pedrosa are expected to be the men to beat.
2006 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Pedrosa was quickest during testing at Jerez in November, then just 0.133s behind former five-times MotoGP world champion Rossi during the 40-minute 'qualifying' shootout at the final pre-season test, again at Jerez, last month.
The Spanish Grand Prix was also the scene of Pedrosa's spectacular debut MotoGP ride last year where he scored a stunning second place after challenging Ducati's Loris Capirossi for the win. With the crowd behind him and a podium to his name from Qatar two weeks ago, it will be a shock if Pedrosa isn't fighting for victory on Sunday.
"The result in Qatar was quite good and I was happy to get on the podium at the first race of the year - now we must really push and try to improve so we can fight at the front until the end," said the Repsol Honda rider. "The tyre choice for Jerez is going to be really important in order to achieve consistency in the race and we must work hard to get quicker because some of the other teams are going really fast now.
"The tests over the winter went well at Jerez and I was able to go quickly and finish near the top, but that was also the case at Qatar so we need to stay focussed on improving.
"The Jerez circuit is a good challenge because it combines fast corners and some really hard braking zones into slow bends. This means the bike needs to be well balanced and the tyres take a lot of punishment – tyre choice will be critical to outcome of the race. The atmosphere here is always special and you can feel the support from the fans as you ride on track. I hope it's a great weekend for us," he confessed. Crash | |
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