For years Donington has signalled the start of the holidays but this season the ninth round of the championship is the first of two consecutive races before the summer break, which will come after the German Grand Prix

Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri are looking forward to the return to Europe in optimistic mood. The Spaniard is aiming to confirm the progress made in the US Grand Prix, where he set an excellent pace during the race, whilst the Italian is focused on getting back to the good results that have seen him rise to second in the MotoGP World Championship standings over the first half of the season.

Last season the British Grand Prix proved to be a turning point for Sete Gibernau as he returned to the podium after consecutive crashes in Brazil and Germany. This year Sete is hunting his first victory of the season and is hoping to celebrate before the start of the summer holidays.

His team-mate Marco Melandri, who lives just two kilometres from the Donington Park circuit, also has plenty of incentives. Marco, winner of the 250cc race in 2002, has a score to settle with the circuit after breaking his thumb during practice for last year’s race, an injury that required surgery and affected the rest of his season. Things have changed a lot since then - Marco has rediscovered his best form with Honda and Team Gresini and wants to get as close as possible to Valentino Rossi before the holidays, with the gap currently standing at 79 points.

Pedrosa meets Lance Armstrong

The Movistar Honda 250cc team returns to action in England. For Dani Pedrosa it feels like a long time since the Dutch TT, although he made the most of the obligatory three-week break. The World Champion stepped up his physical training programme and realised a personal dream when he met his idol, Lance Armstrong.

Dani was in France doing cycling training with his physical trainer and took the opportunity to watch the end of a stage of the French race. To see the multi-champion in action and then get the chance to enjoy a leisurely chat with him in the team’s hotel was an unforgettable experience for Dani.

The double-World Champion returns this weekend to a circuit that witnessed one of his most convincing victories ever last season, when he finished with an advantage of six seconds over Sebastián Porto. It was a victory that virtually sealed the 250cc title and he is hoping for the same result this time around.

Hiroshi Aoyama made the most of the break to visit his family in Japan before returning to a circuit that he particularly likes. Aoyama has gained consistency in his second full World Championship season and he is ready to fight regularly for podium finishes in the second half of the championship.

RIDER QUOTES

Sete Gibernau:
“After the experience in the US Grand Prix, where we had a great race, I’m looking forward to getting back to action and having a good, complete weekend from Friday to Sunday. I think we have to stay fully concentrated and, as always, believe in ourselves because we have shown in the past that we are winners. There are still a lot of races left but personally I need to get back on the right lines and start recording the results I think we deserve. The next two races in England and Germany are going to be very important in order to get to the holidays in good shape and with top moral for when we return at the end of August.”

Marco Melandri:
“It’s a good feeling to be back in Europe after the experience of Laguna Seca! It was a tough weekend for us and I want to get back on the good run of results we’ve had so far in the championship. Donington is also only two kilometres from my house so for me it is like my second home Grand Prix. I’m happy that the number of spectators is growing year by year, although the atmosphere is still a long way off the races in Spain or Italy. You always have to keep an eye on the weather at Donington because it changes quickly, but I hope to be prepared for any conditions. I also want to get over what happened last season, when I fell, broke my thumb, had to have an operation and suffered with the injury for the rest of the season.”

Dani Pedrosa:
“It feels like a long time since the Dutch TT but they’ve been three entertaining weeks for me. I watched the Laguna Seca race on television and spent a few days in France with my physical trainer doing some cycling. We were close to the end of one of the Tour stages and decided to go and watch the podium ceremony, which was great. I’m looking forward to getting back on the motorcycle after three weeks away. We’ve now got two consecutive races and this is the time to put things in their place. I will have to be very focused throughout the weekend because my rivals are pushing quite hard. We will all be fresh and ready to get back on the bike. Last year we had a great race at Donington so I hope we can repeat it.”

Hiroshi Aoyama:
“I made the most of the three weeks without a race to visit Japan and spend a few days with my family, resting and recovering strength for the return to racing this weekend. I spent a week at my parents’ house and last week I returned to Barcelona to get back to work with my physical trainer. We’ve done a bit of everything: jogging, supermoto and cycling. It has been a relaxing few days but I’m looking forward to getting back to the circuit and especially to Donington because I think I can do well there. I feel strong and I’m ready to continue on an upward curve, as we showed in the last round at Assen.”

THE VENUE

BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Circuit: Donington Park
Grand Prix: Betandwin.com British Grand Prix
Inauguration: 1931
Latest modification: 1985
Length: 4,023 m.
Width: 10m.
Right corners: 7
Left corners: 4
Main straight: 564 m.

MOVISTAR RIDERS’ RESULTS AT DONINGTON

THE CIRCUIT ACCORDING TO:

SETE GIBERNAU

Chalk and cheese
“The track is really close to an airport so the tarmac is a little bit affected by the fuel that is spilled by the aeroplanes. This affects the performance of the tyres and all the manufacturers have to pay special attention here. It has one of the fastest and most difficult downhill sections, with a blind corner that you have to turn into without seeing where you are going. It’s got two really different sections: the first one being really fast and the second with lots of heavy braking.”

MARCO MELANDRI

Not designed for MotoGP
“Donington Park isn’t one of the best circuits for a MotoGP bike. The first part is a bit dangerous, but also exciting, whilst the second part is slow. In the slower corners it’s very common for the bike to slide, although with the changes they made last year the track surface has improved a lot. The two parts of the track are very different – one fast and one slow - and you have to adapt your riding style for each in order to set a fast lap.”

DANI PEDROSA

Stop and go
“Donington is a ‘stop and go’ circuit, which links hard braking zones with hard acceleration. Being so close to an airport doesn’t help at all: the grip isn’t perfect and the bike tends to slide a lot. Engine performance is critical in some of the corners.”

HIROSHI AOYAMA

Interesting
“I like it. The track layout is interesting and the grip is good, although the facilities are a bit antiquated. It is a circuit with rises and drops and you have to concentrate very hard or else it can be dangerous.”

THE 2005 SEASON SO FAR FOR THE MOVISTAR RIDERS

LAP RECORDS:

MOTOGP
Circuit record: 1’31”023 Valentino Rossi (Honda, 2003)
Pole 2004: 1’28“720 Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
Podium 2004:  1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 2. Colin Edwards (Honda), 3. Sete Gibernau (Honda)

250 CC.
Circuit record: 1’34”096 Daijiro Kato (Honda 2001)
Pole 2004: 1’32”430 Alex De Angelis (Aprilia)
Podium 2004: 1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 2. Sebastián Porto (Aprilia), 3. Randy De Puniet (Aprilia)

125 CC.
Circuit record: 1’38”312 Lucio Cecchinello (Aprilia, 2002)
Pole 2004: 1’37“211 Andrea Dovizioso (Honda)
Podium 2004: 1. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda), 2. Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia), 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Derbi)

SUNDAY TIMETABLE

(Times in CET)
13.30h. 125cc race (25 laps, 100.575km)
14.45h. 250cc race (27 laps, 108.621km)
16.30h. MotoGP race (30 laps, 120.69km)