|
|
2008-09-23 Ducati chases 4th consecutive victory at Motegi
 Be first to comment this story
 The Ducati Marlboro Team travel to the Motegi circuit this week for the first of three rounds outside Europe as the MotoGP World Championship visits Japan, Australia and Malaysia during the space of just four weeks. Exactly one year ago, in September 2007, Ducati were celebrating at the circuit north of Tokyo thanks to a first MotoGP title for Casey Stoner and a race victory for Loris Capirossi.
This year the Australian arrives at the Grand Prix of Japan lying second in the championship standings behind Valentino Rossi, with a slender chance of keeping his title hopes alive over the final four races. However, Stoner's never-say-die attitude will ensure that he keeps fighting until mathematically out of the running.
Marco Melandri is also hopeful of a top result at a circuit where Ducati has celebrated victory for the past three seasons.
Casey Stoner:
I've had a mixed bag of results at Motegi - some good, some bad. Obviously the best memory is of last year with the title victory but as always I prefer to look to the future rather than reflect on the past. The track has always given me the impression that it is more suited to cars than bikes because it is full of hard braking and acceleration zones and there aren't many flowing sections. Anyway, it is a fun track and I think it can be good for our bike and tyres. The wrist hasn't given me great problems over the last week and seems to be improving on the last couple of weeks so I can't wait to get back on the bike and try to get a better result than we've managed lately.
Marco Melandri:
Motegi isn't a bad circuit, in fact I like it quite a lot. It is an unusual layout - it doesn't flow and is more of a 'stop and go' track. The surface is really good and I always enjoy riding here. The race at Indy was particularly difficult and I'm sure we can do much better than that. Of course I don't expect the final four races to be easy but I hope I can manage to finish the season with a decent run of form. Every GP is a different story so I hope that at Motegi, where Ducati have won for the last three seasons, things go really well.
Livio Suppo, MotoGP Project Director:
Motegi is a circuit with so many great memories for us. The first victory with Bridgestone in 2005, which came so many months after our first outright victory in MotoGP at Barcelona in 2003, has particular significance. Then there was the victory in 2006, when Loris was fighting for the title, and of course last year. It was entirely down to Loris because he picked the perfect moment to change bikes and take his third straight win there on the same day Casey was crowned World Champion! All in all, Motegi is a special place for us and even though we go there not in as good shape as last year there are still four races left and we're glad that one of them is at this track.
|
Back to MotoGP news home
|
|
|
