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2008-10-01 More things to do for Honda riders at Phillip Island
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Dani Pedrosa, fresh from a podium last Sunday at Motegi, is set to squeeze even more speed from his RCV this weekend as he gets more experience on Bridgestone rubber and gathers more data on the pneumatic-valve engine. With the World Championship already in the hands of Valentino Rossi Dani is locked in combat with last year’s title winner Casey Stoner for second place overall in this season’s points table.
Stoner has 220 points after four wins and five podiums while Dani has collected 209 points from his two victories and seven rostrum finishes so far. With just three Grands Prix remaining this year, the fight is tight.
Another title still in dispute is the coveted rookie of the year award. Jorge Lorenzo sits fourth overall in the points table on 169 points with his former 250cc sparring partner Andrea Dovizioso trailing him on 136 points.
Lorenzo would be expected to finish ahead, but the dogged Dovi will be the last man to give up when there is still a chance of catching a rival – especially a man he has twice finished runner-up to in the 250cc class.
This will be the last Grand Prix at Phillip Island on a Honda (for the foreseeable future) for Nicky Hayden. The American former World Champion still holds the lap record here from a 2006 ride on a 990cc RCV at 1m 29.020 seconds. Nicky has finished second and third here and a win would be a fitting conclusion to his hard-fought Honda years.
Randy de Puniet is eager to get some solid end of season results after a year in which he has qualified better than he has finished. He will be encouraged by the fact that his sixth-place finish last season on a Kawasaki was that factory’s best result here so far.
Alex de Angelis has always ridden strong races here in his 250cc days, the San Marinese man notching two second places. A rostrum on Sunday would be fair reward for his fine efforts this season on a satellite bike – two fourths – in his rookie year.
Seasoned campaigner Shinya Nakano is one of only two riders to have finished every race so far this season (the other being Rossi) and the doughty Japanese rider would like to keep that record intact here this weekend. He’d also like a second top six finish of the season, or better.
This rollercoaster of a circuit is situated 130km south east of Melbourne and tends to be one of the showcase races of the year, this time event number 16 of a gruelling 18-race season. Real talent is needed here, perhaps more than at any other circuit.
Tyre wear is a key issue here. The long left-hand turns onto the main straight are particularly hard on rubber, so machine set-up will be partly aimed at conserving tyre life on this 4.448km long circuit. It has just one short 900m straight, but five right-hand turns and seven lefts including those daunting high-speed lefts onto the start/finish straight.
Much of the track requires rapid changes of direction at high speed, and sustained periods of high lean-angle test riders to the maximum. Competitors need to be comfortable on worn tyres towards the end of the race, while wind and trouble with wandering wildlife can also be determining factors.
Bike set-up requires responsive high-speed handling married to a dependable degree of stability – always a tricky combination to engineer. Perhaps the biggest factor here is the rider. This track rewards bravery into turn one and sheer nerve through the final left-handers that lead onto the main chute.
Dani Pedrosa:
At Motegi I was getting a good feeling from my bike and tyres, and I’m sure my feeling will continue to improve at Phillip Island as we continue to learn more about our new technical package. The big question mark for this race is the weather – it can be quite tough if the weather isn’t good. Phillip Island is fast, the asphalt is a little old, a bit bumpy in a few places and the grip is not so great. To go fast it is important to start the lap well and keep it flowing, although you still need an aggressive riding style to go fast here. There are a lot of wide and open left-handers through which you use a lot of throttle, so the rear tyre needs to be quite hard on the left side.
Nicky Hayden:
I love Phillip Island. I don’t think there’s a better racetrack in the world, but I wish we could race there when the weather’s a little bit better – sometimes it can be more like Phillip Iceland than Phillip Island. A lot of tracks they keep slowing them down, adding chicanes for safety, but this one you can really turn it on. There’s some real fast stuff, so it’s a track where you can get in a rhythm when the bike’s working and go fast, and when the bike’s not working you can be pretty slow. You spend a lot of time on the edge of the tyres, so it’s probably the hardest track in the world for tyres, so we’ll work with my Michelin guys to get the best tyres for the race.
Andrea Dovizioso:
Phillip Island is a technically demanding circuit, characterised by a cold climate and strong wind. For me it has never been a favourite track, things only went well here last year and we’ll have to be strong and prepare for the race carefully to maximise our results. With long, fast corners the front-end of the bike is under a lot of stress and results reward the committed. Whatever happens I want to collect the best possible result.
Alex De Angelis:
We’re not coming here off the back of an amazing race so morale is clearly not that high but I’m thinking positive because Philip Island is my favourite track and in both 125 and 250 I’ve come really close to victory on many occasions. One of the most important things is that I have tested the MotoGP bike here in winter, so it should be easier to start the weekend in a positive way. We know that Bridgestone have got different tyres to the ones we used for the test, with the aim of improving our performance, so I can’t help but feel confident.
Shinya Nakano:
Phillip Island is completely different to the track we’ve just been to at Motegi. There are so many fast sections, which are a great challenge for us riders. You need a good setting but it’s fun to ride here and I think from that perspective it’s one of the best on the calendar. The result at Motegi clearly wasn’t fantastic but I had fun again after two difficult races. My feeling with the bike has improved a lot and for that reason I’m confident about this weekend.
Randy De Puniet:
It’s been frustrating recently. I’ve had a bit of bad luck and my wrist injury hasn’t exactly helped either. Things have to improve soon and this would be a great place to change the pattern and put in a strong performance for the team as much as anything.
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