Homeboy Dani Pedrosa ready to challenge rival Stoner

A 250,000 crowd is expected in Jerez

Dani Pedrosa. © Honda Pro Images. As round two of what is shaping up to be a red-hot MotoGP World Championship hits Jerez in southern Spain this weekend, a 250,000 crowd is expected. This horde will largely be there to will on Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V), the main Spanish hope for the 2007 World Championship.

The young Spaniard scored a third place in the opening race in Qatar and now that the series has returned to Europe, he will be looking for nothing less than a win at his ‘home' race. There used to be a theory that it was only when the series came to Europe that the ‘real' racing began. But things have changed.

With an 18-race series, and with six of those races outside Europe at key stages of the Championship, no competitor can afford to write off any race as an aberration either in terms of rider form or the result. Which makes Casey Stoner's win for Ducati in Losail significant - and another victory for the red bike here would signal trouble for his rivals.

Dani, Casey's great rival from their 250 days, must be among the favourites to score a win here, especially after his second place here in 2006 in his debut MotoGP race. He was fast in testing here at this demanding 4.423km track and with the crowd behind him too great things are expected.
He will also be buoyed by breaking Rossi's record of being the youngest rider to take 50 podiums with his third at Losail.

Dani Pedrosa said: "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. 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."

Marco Melandri. © Honda Pro Images. The circuit presents a challenge on two fronts; rider rhythm is vital and front tyre grip at a premium. Laid out among natural contours, Jerez was built in 1986 and hosted its first Grand Prix the following year. It has never been off the Grand Prix calendar since - a measure of the quality of racing it provides.

Jerez makes demands in all areas of machine set-up with short, medium and long straights, uphill and downhill braking areas, and two second-gear hairpins. But the biggest test is whether a rider can make a series of consistent, flowing laps in race conditions when the ideal lines through turns on this 11m wide circuit may be occupied by rivals.

Bikes have to be stable to cope with bumps on the entries to key turns. Under hard braking, the undulations into turn one at the end of the start/finish straight can pose problems and another tight right-hander at the end of the back straight is a challenge too - especially as these are recognised ‘passing places'. The longest straight is only 600m making a high top speed less of a requirement than at other tracks. But the speed shown by Stoner's Ducati in Qatar will still be a factor.

Jerez also boasts one of the most spectacular run-ins to the finish line - two 100mph right turns, with rear wheels spinning-up, and then desperate braking into the final tight left - where many a race has been won and lost, often amid fierce controversy.

Nicky Hayden. © Honda Pro Images. 2006 World Champ Nicky Hayden is looking forward the Spanish venue: "I'm definitely looking forward to the race at Jerez this weekend. The Spanish crowd, the atmosphere - everything about Jerez is fun and the passion the fans show is amazing. The last test there went quite well for me and I'm looking forward to getting out on track, trying to get a good feeling with the bike and having some fun.
It's round two and I'm aiming to fight back strongly after Qatar."

For the Italian Marco Melandri: "There's a lot of expectation for this first race in Europe and it's sure to be a great show. Jerez is a circuit I like a lot because it is so technical and complete. To ride fast there you need to have a well-balanced bike. The track is characterised by long corners that require a stable front-end that gives you plenty of confidence. There isn't a long straight like in Qatar, so that is an advantage for us at the moment. I feel good and can't wait to get back on track."

Toni Elias. © Honda Pro Images. "I can't wait to ride in front of my home fans," said Marco's Spanish team-mate Toni Elias. "Racing here is always an incredible emotion, especially when you enter the stadium section. You can feel the heat of the fans - it's really amazing. We took a major step forward at the test here with the Bridgestone tyres and in Qatar we made more progress, qualifying fourth fastest, although we need to work on the durability of the tyres. We are working to find a good base set-up, which is particularly important for Jerez, which combines fast and slow corners."

Another Spanish star riding alongside Dani and Toni is Carlos Checa, the LCR Honda rider said: "I always feel very emotional at Jerez because this is my ‘home' race and for sure I will have a lot of fans around me, which is always a great feeling. But I need to concentrate on the race because I do not want to repeat the mistakes of Qatar. I know the Jerez track and I'm aiming for a good result on Sunday. I've spoken with Ramon Forcada and we have some ideas to improve the front-end feeling of the bike."

Kenny Roberts Jr. © Honda Pro Images. Kenny Roberts Jr. will be aiming for a far better result than his disappointing 13th in Qatar. He said, "We're just working at getting ourselves into a better position than we were at Losail. We'll be taking it bit by bit and making sure we have a better package than we did for the first race. This race is where we have to get our season going forward."