Ducati's Rossi & Hayden Ready for Jerez

Sam Sims for Ultimatemotorcycling.com
04/25/2012

2012 MotoGP

The 2012 MotoGP Championship heads to Jerez this weekend for the first of four rounds in Spain. And one team is hoping the winter testing performed at the Jerez circuit will help for better initial setup, and ultimately results - the Ducati Team.

Riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden have positive results at Jerez, the nine-time World Champion Rossi taking six premier-class wins there, making him the most successful rider at the Spanish circuit, and Hayden five top-five places, including third at a wet 2011 MotoGP.

As for VR46, Rossi was involved in the infamous crash last season between him and Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner, the 2011 MotoGP Champion. Although Rossi crashed on lap 8 last season, the Italian remounted to finish fifth.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team GP12 MotoGP) says: "I've always liked the Jerez track a lot, and we certainly must try to do better than in Qatar. By the end of the three-day test in March, we had found a decent setup for the GP12, so we have a base to start from for this track as we prepare the bike for the race. It will be very important to work well during the Friday and Saturday practice sessions, focusing particularly on maintaining a good direction and on taking advantage of what we currently have to work with."

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team GP12 MotoGP) says: "I really enjoy the Jerez GP. In some ways it's like the first race all over again, because it's a little bit different than Qatar. We're back in Europe, with our trucks and all the crowds. It's also a special track. It's really tough, with very few straightaways, so you have to ‘connect the dots' and do some hard braking.

"If you want to do a good lap time, it's important to be fast in those last two right-handers. I'm looking forward to it. We tested there last month, but since then we have a race under our belt and a bit more data to consider. We know the general setup of the bike now. Last year the weather definitely mixed things up a bit, so we'll see what it does this time."

Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati Team Manager) says: "We're returning to Jerez a month after the winter test there, so we should find very similar conditions. The first race, in Qatar, was very difficult for Valentino, as we didn't find a good setup that would let him feel comfortable on the bike. In Spain, by taking advantage of the work we did there in March, we'll focus on helping him once again find a good feeling.

"Nicky is coming off of two days of testing at Mugello, where he had hoped to make up some of the time lost during winter testing, but bad weather prevented him from doing much. Still, he was able to get to know the bike better at the first round, and he's confident in being able to find a good setup for this track as well."

Jerez MotoGP Records:

• Lap Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda - 2010), 1:39.731, 159.657 Km/h (99.206 mph)
• Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha - 2008), 1:38.189, 162.164 Km/h (100.764 mph)
• Track Length: 4.423 km (2.748 mi)
• 2012 MotoGP Race: 27 laps (119.421 km, 74.205 mi)
• 2012 MotoGP Race Time: 2:00 p.m. local time
• 2011 Podium: 1st Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd Dani Pedrosa, 3rd Nicky Hayden
• 2011 Pole: Casey Stoner (Honda) 1:38.757 - 161.232 Km/h (100.185 mph)
• 2011 Fastest Lap: (4th lap) Valentino Rossi (Ducati) 1:48.753 - 146.4 Km/h (91.0 mph)

Ducati Team Results at Jerez:

• 2011: 3rd (Hayden)
• 2010: 4th (Hayden)
• 2009: 3rd (Stoner)
• 2008: 11th (Stoner)
• 2007: 5th (Stoner)
• 2006: 1st (Capirossi)
• 2005: 10th (Checa)
• 2004: 12th (Capirossi)
• 2003: 3rd (Bayliss)

Ducati Team: Rider Info:

Valentino Rossi:

• Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP12
• Race Number: 46
• Age: 33 (born in Pesaro, Italy, 16 February 1979)
• Residence: Tavullia (Pesaro, Italy)
• Number of GPs: 259 (199 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
• First GP: 1996 Malaysian GP (125cc)
• Number of Wins: 105 (79 x MotoGP, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
• First GP Win: 1996 Czech Republic GP (125cc)
• Poles: 59 (49 x MotoGP, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
• First Pole: 1996 Czech Republic GP (125cc)
• World Championships: 9 (6 x MotoGP, 1 x 500cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)

Rossi's MotoGP Results at Jerez

• 2011: Qualifying, 12th; Race, 5th
• 2010: Qualifying, 4th; Race, 3rd
• 2009: Qualifying, 4th; Race, 1st
• 2008: Qualifying, 2nd; Race, 2nd
• 2007: Qualifying, 2nd; Race, 1st
• 2006: Qualifying, 9th; Race, 14th
• 2005: Qualifying, 1st; Race, 1st
• 2004: Qualifying, 1st; Race, 4th
• 2003: Qualifying, 5th; Race, 1st
• 2002: Qualifying, 1st; Race, 1st
• 2001: Qualifying, 1st, Race, 1st

Nicky Hayden:

• Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP12
• Race Number: 69
• Age: 30 (born in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA, 30 July 1981)
• Residence: Owensboro (Kentucky, USA)
• Number of GPs: 152 (152 x MotoGP)
• First GP: 2003 Japanese GP (MotoGP)
• Number of Wins: 3 (3 x MotoGP)
• First GP Win: 2005 USA GP (MotoGP)
• Poles: 5 (5 x MotoGP)
• First Pole: 2005 USA GP (MotoGP)
• World Championships: 1 (6 x MotoGP, 2006)

Hayden's MotoGP Results at Jerez

• 2011: Qualifying, 11th; Race, 3rd
• 2010: Qualifying, 5th; Race, 4th
• 2009: Qualifying, 16th; Race, 15th
• 2008: Qualifying, 3rd; Race, 4th
• 2007: Qualifying, 11th; Race, 7th
• 2006: Qualifying, 4th; Race, 3rd
• 2005: Qualifying, 4th; Race, DNF
• 2004: Qualifying, 7th; Race, 5th
• 2003: Qualifying, 19th; Race, DNF

Source: Ultimatemotorcycling.com

Congratulations Ryan's! 

Ryan Villopoto takes a swift first place while Dungey on his heels again takes the #2 podium spot.  Great race guys, I love the way this series is going!!! Such exciting racing.  I hate that Chad is out but we still have Stewart being crazy fast as usual.  Watch out for him!

Will posts stats in a bit....