With just three months remaining
before the city of Beijing plays host to the XXIX
edition of the Olympic Games, China opens its doors to
an equally talented array of athletes and a similarly
historic championship this weekend as the MotoGP World
Championship lands in Shanghai for the fourth round of
an already intriguing season. The Fiat Yamaha Team heads
for the Orient in fine spirits after a sensational start
to the season, which has wielded five podiums and
leadership of both the teams’ and riders’ standings.
Pivotal to that success is the early season form of
rookie revelation Jorge Lorenzo, who has made the most
successful ever start to a modern-day MotoGP career
after three races. An unbroken pole to podium record so
far have taken the youngster to the top of the standings
on 61 points - a tally he aims to add to in China on his
21st birthday.
A debut premier-class success in Portugal two weeks ago
made Lorenzo the fifth youngest rider to achieve the
feat – outshining legendary names such as Mike Hailwood
and his own team-mate Valentino Rossi – and the youngest
to finish on the podium at three successive races.
Having conquered Estoril on his first visit with the
YZR-M1, a circuit at which he had never previously won
in any class, Lorenzo can fully expect to be competitive
at Shanghai, where he dominated with pole position,
victory and a new lap record in the 250cc class last
year, especially after undergoing successful surgery to
cure a troublesome ‘arm-pump’ condition.
In 2005 Valentino Rossi himself made history by taking
victory in the first ever MotoGP race to be held in
China, which was affected by heavy rain. The Italian was
forced to retire in 2006 but he bounced back with second
place last year and his focus for this weekend is to go
one step higher on the podium. Rossi is confident that
his blossoming relationship with Bridgestone tyres is
ready to bear fruit and see him join Lorenzo, Casey
Stoner and Dani Pedrosa on the winners’ list for the
season.
Combining fast straights and hard braking zones with a
series of slow and difficult corners, Shanghai is not
dissimilar to Estoril in terms of bike set-up, with the
engineers required to find a compromised balance between
nimbleness and straight-line speed. As at any Herman
Tiilke-designed circuit, horsepower is a crucial factor
and Shanghai is no exception, boasting the longest
straight on the calendar at an incredible 1202 metres.
Valentino Rossi
“After Estoril we had a test and
the primary focus was tyre testing with Bridgestone,
working on material for Shanghai. We found some good
things and I hope that we'll be starting in good shape.
We've had three races together now and I think the last
two podiums, especially in Estoril which isn't such a
good track for Bridgestone, have shown that we're making
good progress in our relationship and I hope that
Shanghai is going to be the place where it finally all
comes together. We're not in such a bad place in the
championship and there is a very long way to go, but our
rivals are very strong so we can't afford to make
mistakes and we need to try to take as many points as
possible from now on. Last year in China we weren't
quite able to win but this year our bike is working very
well and, together with our tyre package, I think we
should be fighting for the victory. The race in 2007 was
very exciting I think, a long battle with Stoner; this
year I hope for a similar battle with my rivals but with
a different outcome!”
Jorge Lorenzo
“Each day I am feeling better
after my operation; I feel great and I think the
recovery is going very well, without problems. I am
going to China in perfect shape. The victory in Portugal
was like a big present that I had never expected, but in
a way it wasn’t a perfect victory because I couldn't
enjoy it so much! The pain in my arms changed the
celebration but I believe the most important thing is to
make sure I am fit for the future. I am calm because I
am realizing a dream and for me the target for the
season has already been reached. Now we must continue to
work like this and I have to concentrate on the next
race. I have had mixed fortunes in China - I had many
problems in 2006 and I couldn't finish but last year I
won and it made the championship easier because it took
me to 95 points after only four races. Shanghai is a
modern track with a long straight, fast corners and big
braking areas. It is the second circuit where I've never
ridden in MotoGP so I don't know what my performance
will be like here but I was very comfortable at this
track in 250cc, so I hope it will be the same on May
4th.”
Davide Brivio (Team Manager
Rossi)
“Normally in China we have always been competitive but
last year we couldn’t win, we finished second. This year
we’ll try again but the competition will be much
stronger because it is not only Stoner who is capable of
fighting for victory, there are other competitive riders
too. We were very pleased with the results in Jerez and
Estoril because we knew they were tracks that weren’t
the most favourable for us so it was a case of going
there to defend. Now we hope that China is the first of
the tracks where we can go and attack. It has been a
really interesting season so far with three different
winners in the opening three races. Lorenzo is the
rookie and it’s very surprising what he’s doing but all
three are young and it shows that the new generation is
very strong. I think the three race winners so far are
our toughest competitors for the World Championship so
now we hope it is Valentino’s turn.”
Daniele Romagnoli (Team Manager
Lorenzo)
“Of course we are all surprised by Jorge’s results so
far – I don’t think anybody expected him to win so early
in the season or to start from pole in each of the first
three races! It is down to a combination of things:
firstly, the talent of the rider, secondly the
incredible support he has received from Yamaha and
thirdly the performance of Michelin’s tyres, which have
improved so much this year. Also, I think the team are
doing a great job trying to adapt the M1 to Jorge and
altogether it is fair to say we are more than satisfied
with his progress! This race is a similar story to
Estoril in that Jorge has never ridden our bike here
before but everybody saw what he did in Portugal and
this is a similar layout; there is a very high-speed
straight and some tight sections where the handling of
the Yamaha excels, so we’re expecting another good
result. I don’t know exactly how Jorge will be able to
ride after his operation – the doctors say he is 100%
but we will have to wait and see. I have confidence in
them though and this was definitely the right time to
operate. In theory he should be even faster than
before!"
