Q & A with Casey Stoner
By Simon Strang Thursday, April 30th 2009, 16:32 GMT
Despite a brake problem consigning him to fourth in the Japanese Grand Prix, Casey Stoner remains confident of the potential of the Ducati GP09 and his chances of regaining the world championship title.
Talking to the press on the eve of this weekend's race in Jerez, Stoner explained his problems in Motegi and why he hopes he might even be able to break his duck on the Spanish track in the top class. AUTOSPORT was there to hear what he said.
Q. Were your problems in Motegi related to the new chassis or were they independent of it?
Casey Stoner: They were completely independent of it. We haven't had any problems with the chassis. As I went out on the start of my warm-up lap I had a lot of shuddering in the front brakes. We don't really understand why.
I had similar problems to this at the end of the race in Qatar, but that was due to the tyre slipping around the rim and it went out of balance so... it was similar to this. I thought; 'Oh no the wheel has already slipped, and I am going to have chattering the whole race'.
But as I came onto the grid and I pulled gently on the brakes the front-end was dipping, so basically there must have been some problem with the discs and the pads. Either there was a chunk out of the disc that wore away, or I don't know what it was.
At the beginning of the race there was no consistency in the braking, it was inconsistent going in and I lost the front a couple of time, so I lost all my confidence, and everybody started piling past me. I was pretty much lucky to stay where I did with not more people filing past me.
Q. Did you understand what the problem was, did you talk with Brembo?
CS: At the end of the race we checked everything. We could see on the data that there was a problem, but because in the last seven or eight laps there wasn't a problem they couldn't see where it had come from. If it was a problem with the disk then it had been worn away. We could see it on the data but we can't find anything.
Q. So the problem wasn't for the whole race?
CS: For the last seven or eight laps it was much better. It started to get better in the middle of the race, it was just in the beginning that I lost time. I lost so much confidence. Even if it had only been for a few laps it wouldn't have been that much of an issue but because it was when it was, I lost all my confidence and I didn't want to crash in the early stages.
I thought at least if it becomes better then I can start to improve, which I did, but we had lost too much time by then.
Q. What are your feelings for this race?
CS: For this race we are a lot more confident than we have been in the past. Last year was obviously a disaster with the setting we had and in the race. This year I feel a little bit more confident. We had a good setting here in testing, but we know the track conditions change all the time so we are going to have make sure this setting still works and we will try and improve it from there. I think we could be in with a shout for at least a podium which is a better result than we have ever had here.
Q. At the test here you said top five would be the limit of your ambitions, would you say top three now then?
CS: I would say top three yeah. We were very confident in the test, the bike was working so well. We've always had a problem since we went to 800s on this circuit, and it was feeling much better in the test. I think we should look forward to this race and see if it we can't get the set-up a little bit better. Especially not having so much track time now, but hopefully it will stay dry and I can concentrate a bit more on it, but I'm feeling good.
Q. If you get a better result here on Sunday, what do you think that will mean for the rest of the season?
CS: We got second last year at Motegi, but this year's was a much better result than 2007, and this year we haven't finished… I think fifth or sixth was my best result at Jerez, in 2007, and 11th last year, so we have got to look at the positives and know that we are going to take more points away from here than we have in the past. So as long as we finish the race, we should be in a reasonably good position.
Q. Would you agree with what Valentino said about there being four of you out there that can win any of these races?
CS: I'm going to say the same thing I always have - don't count your chickens. You don't know who is going to be competitive. There is still Andrea (Dovizioso) who put up a pretty good fight for most of that race, Colin (Edwards) who has been running pretty well this year, Nicky (Hayden) who hasn't been able to show himself because of bad luck. So people should just leave their opinions at home, watch the race and enjoy it.
Q. Are you enjoying the fight with more riders?
CS: I mean it was nice to watch it in Motegi, but I kind of wish I was a little bit closer. I thought at one point I would have been able to track them down, but I wasn't able to go that much quicker. We had a loss of confidence at the beginning when the tyres were a little better maybe, and we struggled at the end with the light fuel load. To come away with a fourth position with the way the race started, we did alright.
Q. Can you see yourself riding defensively here?
CS: No. You only really start defending at the end of the season when you are in a good position. This race, and the first half of the season is attacking, to the point where if it's too much then back off and settle for what you can.
Q. You must feel a lot more confident this year, now that you are in the ballpark right from the start?
CS: Last year we started off with a real big spring in our step and everyone overlooked the problems that we had. But this year is so much better. We have got a lot more confidence in the engine, we have got a lot more torque. In Motegi we had struggled in the past with acceleration in the corners. Last year I was running first year out of some of the corners, this year I was in second. We are definitely feeling more confident in the package that we have got now.
Q and A with Valentino Rossi
By Simon Strang Thursday, April 30th 2009, 17:15 GMT
Valentino Rossi starts the European MotoGP season still chasing his first win of the year, having finished second to Casey Stoner in Qatar and his own Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo in Japan last weekend.
Now he is gunning for his sixth victory in the top class at Jerez on Sunday, he told the press why he is looking forward to racing at one of his favourite tracks again and why he has no qualms about taking the fight to Lorenzo if he has to. AUTOSPORT was there to hear what he had to say.
Q. For some people this is the 'real' start of the season, this is such a big grand prix for you isn't it.
Valentino Rossi: I agree because Jerez is always fantastic. The track I like a lot but the atmosphere around the circuit is completely different compared to Qatar and Motegi. We hope also the weather will be different because we fight a lot against the water in the first two races! This time the forecast is okay, so it is possible to make a normal weekend, because the first two races of the season were very strange. Qatar, and also Motegi, it was difficult to work with the bike together with the new rules with less time on the track.
So the test here was okay, I won a lot of times on this track and had big battles with Sete (Gibernau) and others. I think it is possible to do a bit better than the first two races, but anyway 40 points is so important, we are close to the top and we are happy with our performance.
Q. You haven't won a race, but you are right in there as we come into Europe. That's very important isn't it?
VR: Yes. Taking 40 points in the first two races is crucial for the championship, because of the strange situation. We have tried to make the best of it. I preferred the Motegi race compared to Qatar because I was just 1.3s behind the victory and it was a better fight and better to enjoy. In Qatar I was all alone in the race, in the night, so it was quite scary!
For sure Jorge and Dani will have extra motivation in front of all their fans, but we try to fight.
Q. You said in Japan, probably four people can win the championship this year. That's good isn't it?
VR: Yes. I am in a good shape, Yamaha is so competitive and we work well with the team. I assumed already that Jorge, with more experience on the Bridgestone tyres, would come back and fight for victories. Stoner is always impressive and strong and Dani (Pedrosa) demonstrated in Japan that if his knee is fit then it is possible to battle every Sunday for the championship. So I think it will be very interesting going to the end.
Q. We hear you are coming to the TT in the Isle of Man this year, what do you make of that?
VR: Dainese organised it for me. For the motorcycle fan it is great to go to the TT one time to understand it. It is like something unreal when you see it on the television so I am very curious to understand it live, and what it means to be there.
Q. If you find yourself going into the last corner fighting for the lead with your team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, like you did racing against Sete in 2005, would you make the same manouvre?
VR: With Sete, that race was unforgettable from the first lap we start to fight, but especially the last lap and a half it all happened. I was able to overtake on the last time and I took a small advantage but I made a small mistake on the back straight. Sete came back on me and we nearly touched at the hairpin before two or three overtakes to the last hairpin so it was not just one braking (manouvre). It was a very hard fight.
If with Lorenzo it happens the same, then..... Yes.
I want to say that time with Sete, I didn't enter in the corner to touch him. I entered to try and overtake and win the race, but unfortunately Sete doesn't crash and anyway he finished second.
But anyway we are ready for a battle and we wait for the battle and if it's possible for a race with a rival at the same level like that time with Sete with three or four overtaking in the last lap. It was great. In the last lap - it was great. I think it was our sport. If you look at the races of ten years ago it happened 100 times in one race. I like to run like this. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose.
Gibernau: Jerez return feels 'special'
By Simon Strang Thursday, April 30th 2009, 17:50 GMT
Spanish Grand Prix crowd favourite Sete Gibernau has described returning to his home race after a two-year absence as a 'special' moment in his career.
The Hernandez Ducati rider, who won the event at Jerez in 2004, has returned to MotoGP this year after retiring from the sport following a serious collarbone injury sustained in the 2006 Portuguese Grand Prix.
"I think since the opportunity to return to MotoGP came to me, of course coming here was really one of the places that I was really hoping to come and it brings me very great memories," he said. "It's very special I think.
"There is not another grand prix like this one, it is very different to all the others.
"To be back in here again is impressive, I got nervous when I came in through the gates and saw everything was ready for a new grand prix and it really is very interesting for me."
Gibernau admitted after two races back - which have so far netted a best result of 13th (in Qatar) - that MotoGP is very different now to the sport he walked away from.
"For sure!" he said. "Everything is different, but it is also difficult to say what is better and what is worse, it's just different.
"We all have to get used to this new situation, the challenge is paying off for me and enjoying every part of it. I am just happy to be here.
"We are slowly but surely making up to the pace and I am improving my physical condition, and I think that these two races have proved to us what we already knew – how hard it is and how competitive the championship is. We have to work very hard to catch up the guys and while this doesn't scare us, we have to be a little bit patient. My shoulder also needs to get a little bit better and hopefully it will happen soon."
ENJOY!
//RE Cel