Capirossi Leads MotoGP World Championship Into Turkey

Capirossi Leads MotoGP World Championship Into Turkey

© 2006, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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MotoGP to experience the delights of Turkey this weekend Coming hot on heels of the desert trip to Qatar, the third Grand Prix of the 2006 MotoGP season takes place this weekend at the exciting Istanbul Park Circuit. The Grand Prix of Turkey appears on the World Championship calendar for only the second time, having debuted with great success in 2005. As in Qatar, this third Grand Prix of the season will see some changes in schedule due to the time difference factor (GMT +3). In both the Friday and Saturday practice sessions there will be a delay of 1 hour in relation to the normal programme. Sunday’s 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP races will take place at 12pm, 1.15pm and 3pm local time respectively, to coincide with their traditional timeslots in the rest of Europe. Loris Capirossi leads the MotoGP classification after the first two races of the season, the first time that both he and his Ducati team have been in such a position. However, works Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa are hot on Capirossi’s heels, the former on a spectacular run of consecutive podium finishes and the latter one of the breakthrough rookies thus far this season. Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi broke his 2006 duck at the last race in Losail, winning his first race of the season and adding twenty-five points to his two-point tally from race one. The charismatic Italian will be looking to add to his score in Istanbul, one of the only MotoGP tracks on which he has not won. Spaniard Toni Elias has the chance to build on his promising start to the season, and can move his way up from fifth in the standings with another good result in Turkey. Completing the top seven in the overall classification are two riders with a winning pedigree at the Istanbul Circuit. Casey Stoner, so impressive with pole position in Qatar and last year’s 250cc winner at the Turkish track, faces his final opportunity to become the youngest MotoGP winner in history. Marco Melandri, on the other hand, is out for a repeat performance of his 2005 MotoGP win in Turkey, a victory which was his first in the premier class. In 250cc, Jorge Lorenzo has the chance to make it three wins in a row this weekend. The Spanish rider who went so long without a victory finally looks unstoppable this season, although riders of the calibre of Andrea Dovizioso, a resurgent Roberto Locatelli and team-mate Hector Barbera still have the Spaniard within their sights. Likewise, Alvaro Bautista is on a winning streak in 125cc. Breaking the long spell without a consecutive winner in the lower cylinder class, Bautista heads Mika Kallio in the standings, at the scene of a last lap crash which saw the Finn’s title hopes evaporate last season. Mattia Pasini, Sergio Gadea and Lukas Pesek will be wanting to close the gap on Bautista after his victories in Jerez and Qatar. A key difference between this year’s race and that of 2005 will be the climate. MotoGP last visited Turkey in October, and the move to a late-April Grand Prix should bring elevated temperatures more favourable to teams and riders, although there is a possibility of isolated spring showers. The Grand Prix of Turkey takes place on Sunday April 30th at the Istanbul Park Circuit.

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