From a press release issued by Pramac Honda Racing Information:

AWAY OVER THE OCEANS: JAPAN, MALAYSIA, AUSTRALIA.

The great exodus to the East has Montegi in Japan as the next venue, with the first of three rounds outside Europe before the grand finale takes place in Valencia. The Twin Ring circuit, originally made by Honda as its test track in 1997, has everything it takes to make this one of the great rounds of the World Championship: a “classic” circuit, four kilometres and eight hundred metres long, and a high-speed oval circuit of two and a half kilometres specially designed for motorcar racing.

Since 1999, the Twin Ring, a sort of “motor-city”, has become a regular rendezvous for the MotoGP. The colossal facility contains a museum, cars and bikes of all periods, kart tracks and dirt tracks, as well as a vast range of attractions for enthusiasts who turn up for the exciting programme of motoring shows. On a plateau north of Tokyo, in the district of Kanto, Twin Ring is a technical circuit with plenty of characteristics, such as the layout and the highly unpredictable weather, that will put the riders and their teams in all the categories to the test.

THE CIRCUIT. Length: 4,801 metres – 6 left-handers – 8 right-handers

longest straight: 762 metres – Maximum width: 15 metres

Year of construction: 1997.

WINNERS IN 2002.
125 class: Pedrosa (SPA) Honda
250 class: Elias (SPA) Aprilia
MotoGP class: Barros (BRA) Honda.

CIRCUIT RECORDS
125: 1:58.354, Pedrosa 2002
250: 1:52.253, Nakano, 2000
MotoGP: 1:49.947, Barros, 2002.


MAX BIAGGI FOURTH IN BRAZIL, THIRD IN OVERALL STANDINGS.

CAMEL PRAMAC PONS TEAM SECOND IN TEAM RATINGS

Massimiliano Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa, who came 4th and 7th in Rio respectively, have defended the colours of the Camel Pramac Pons team by earning 22 points and keeping it firmly in second place in the special team championship of the MotoGP. Biaggi, who has so far posted one victory, four second places and two third places, in South Africa and at Mugello, is now in third provisional place of the riders’ championship with 174 points and a 37-point gap not that difficult to bridge separating him from Sete Gibernau, who is currently second. However, the 88-point lag behind leader Rossi is much greater and more difficult to regain, since the last 100 points remain to be won in the four races before the season comes to an end.

MAKOTO TAMADA: FIRST MOTOGP PODIUM

In a fantastic race at Rio, Makoto Tamada achieved a great result: in the 12th race of the 2003 championship, the Japanese rookie took third place in Brazil and, for the first time, ended up on the rostrum of the premier class. A terrific race which shows exactly how much work the team technicians have been putting in, and it is a clear indication of Bridgestone’s dedication to the MotoGP 2003 project, as well as of the skills that the rider is already achieving much earlier than expected. For it is clear that Tamada had a highly competitive bike-tyre combination in Brazil, but it is also true that the way he handled the race was faultless: off the throttle at the very last moment, and plenty of aggressive braking, after a good start when the red lights went out and the race was on.

From the strictly technical point of view, it can be said the level of the settings achieved on Makoto’s RC211V is very satisfactory, meaning it will be possible to start work almost immediately to get up to best performance. So, after the initial practice, when he needs to find out about the circuit – many of which he is seeing for the first time – he is already able to work towards fast lap times and on the race-configuration test programme. The good level already achieved is also due to the hard work put in by Bridgestone: the Brno tests in mid-August led to a special front tyre that gives Makoto the safety and confidence he needs so that he can bring all his aggressive riding skills to bear. The Rio race was the most eloquent demonstration of the potential of the talented Japanese of the Pramac Honda Team. One of the most important events, Makoto’s “home” race, is taking place this week at Motegi. This is a “friendly” circuit where he and the entire group should be able to continue their upward trend.


IN THE RUN-UP TO THE 13TH ROUND OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE TWIN RING IN MOTEGI, TEN QUICK QUESTIONS FOR MAKOTO TAMADA:

Q1: MAKOTO, WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS WHEN YOU SEE THAT YOUR POTENTIAL AT RIO ENABLED YOU TO COMPETE WITH THE WORLD’S TOP RIDERS?

R: I realise I’m able to take on the best, but in Rio the conditions were ideal. Everything was just about perfect. When the whole “package” you’ve got is very good, you get results, but in similar conditions other riders can emerge too, so I’m not going to be resting on my laurels and I need to do much more.


Q2: IT LOOKED LIKE A PERFECT RACE THOUGH

R: Let’s say it was good – if it had been perfect, I’d have won.


Q3: WHAT’S YOUR VIEW ABOUT MOTEGI?

R: It’s a circuit I know very well, so I want to get the settings on my bike right as quickly as possible and then start working towards the race, without having to worry about getting a good place at all costs.


Q4: YES, BUT SURELY YOU’LL BE UNDER SOME STRESS – THE “HOME” RACE IS BOUND TO PUT SOME PRESSURE ON YOU.

R: I don’t feel obliged to get a good result, and I don’t feel I’m under any particular pressure.


Q5: HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU RACED AT MOTEGI?

R: Twice in the 250 cc class, and six or eight times – I can’t quite remember – with the Superbike.


Q6: HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU WON AT MOTEGI?

R: Quite a lot: I’ve won five times and I believe I still hold a circuit record.


Q7: AFTER 12 RACES, WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS NOW OF THE MOTOGP?

R: It’s a fantastic championship, at an extraordinarily high level both in terms of technology and in terms of the brilliance of some riders. A dream, it’s the best, but to feel really in tune I want to, and I’ve got to win a race.


Q8: WE THINK IT WOULD BE FAIR TO SAY THAT TODAY YOU ARE THE JAPANESE RIDER MOST FIRMLY ON THE CREST OF THE WAVE: YOU ARE THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE “SCHOOL”. DOES THIS MEAN YOU HAVE GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES?

R: Yes, I suppose it’s true and I do feel the weight of this responsibility, but I try not to worry about it and I just concentrate all I can on this very important period in my career.


Q9: THERE IS A CHANCE YOU COULD FINISH THE 2003 CHAMPIONSHIP AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S TOP TEN RIDERS. IS THIS YOUR OBJECTIVE FOR THE END OF YOUR FIRST MOTOGP SEASON?

R: I don’t think about the standings at all, I just want to develop my skills and win a race before the year’s out.


Q10 FUTURE GOALS?

R: When you do my job, you’ve really only got one thing in mind: you want to be the best in the world one day.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM STEEL THEMSELVES FOR THREE WEEK CHALLENGE

The Fortuna Yamaha Team travels to Motegi this weekend hoping for a positive result in Yamaha’s home country. Spaniard Carlos Checa will be looking for a similar weekend to the one he had here last year, when he started from the front row having qualified just 0.172 seconds behind pole-sitter Daijiro Kato. Unfortunately he had a tough race but managed to salvage a commendable fifth place after some small set-up changes left him less comfortable with his YZR-M1 machine.

It was announced last week by the FIM that the Japanese Grand Prix, which has always been held at the Suzuka circuit, will be held in Motegi in 2004. Various modifications to improve safety at the Suzuka circuit will not be complete in time for April 2004 when the race there would normally take place. So next year the Motegi round of the championship will lose its current name of ‘Pacific Grand Prix’ and will bear the new title of ‘Japanese Grand Prix’.

Checa’s team-mate Marco Melandri will certainly be looking forward to a positive weekend in Japan, as his last trip to the Far East ended in serious injuries after a bad fall on his first day of qualifying at the Suzuka circuit. As a result Melandri was forced to sit out of two races while he recuperated, and made a terrific comeback on his return, gathering momentum and confidence during the European rounds of the championship. Both Fortuna Yamaha Team riders come to Japan wanting to put behind them the difficulties they experienced at the last Grand Prix in Rio two weeks ago.

“The last race in Brazil was difficult for us as we suffered a lack of grip,” explained the team’s director, Davide Brivio. “But before that we were improving and had some good races, particularly in Sachsenring and Brno. So now we would obviously like to go back to that standard and higher. We’ve got three races in a row now so hopefully we can get a good momentum and it will give us the opportunity to achieve a higher standard.

“Carlos had a good race in Brno, and Marco did in Estoril, and both are capable of having a good end of season. We will work as hard as we can to improve their feeling with their bikes. We have recently improved our engine performance and now the focus needs to be on the chassis and set-up. Next year Motegi is going to be the only race in Japan further to the decision of the riders, FIM and the promoter. I think everyone respects that decision to take Suzuka off the calendar as it’s the safety of the riders at stake.”

The Pacific Grand Prix is just the beginning of an endurance test of three back-to-back events, with the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang next weekend and the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island the week after that. The championship will conclude on November 2 at the Valencia circuit in Spain. Championship leader Valentino Rossi has a mathematical chance to win the 2003 World Championship if he wins this weekend but only if current championship runner-up Sete Gibernau finishes in fifteenth place or lower. This would give the Italian Honda rider his third successive premier class world title.

CHECA AIMS FOR HIGHER IN JAPAN

Carlos Checa had a tricky weekend in Rio two weeks ago, as he struggled to finish in the top ten riders, finally ending the race ninth. Despite all efforts made by the Spanish rider and his crew, little could be done to overcome the lack of grip on the bumpy circuit. Starting from tenth on the grid, Checa was hopeful of a good start but in the end was unable to make a pass on the opening few laps. As the race progressed, the tenth-placed rider remained focused and determined, and managed to snatch ninth from Ducati rider Troy Bayliss on the penultimate lap.

The one thing that was lucky at the Brazilian race was the weather, and the Fortuna Yamaha man is hoping for the same blessing at the Pacific Grand Prix this weekend, “Motegi is a circuit that I quite enjoy but only if it’s not raining!” jokes the Spaniard. “It’s important, as all the races are, but especially being in the home country of Yamaha. It’s always great if you can have a good result in front of your bosses. We had problems in Rio two weeks ago but everyone is working flat out to try to resolve those problems. It was especially bad in Rio because of the lack of grip, and the Motegi circuit is quite different.

“Motegi has a lot of uphill and downhill sections, which I like. There’s a lot of hard acceleration, so hopefully our bike will be fast this weekend. It’s going to be a long time away from home and we’ll be very busy with the three back-to-back races but we’re all used to it. Also, the races are in similar time zones so there’s no great problem with jet-lag.”

MELANDRI HOPES TO SHINE IN FRONT OF YAMAHA BOSSES

For twenty-one-year-old Marco Melandri, going back to Japan will no doubt evoke some poignant memories. The Ravenna-born rider had a bad fall in Japan at the beginning of his 2003 season, at the opening round of the championship in Suzuka. He is now fully recovered and will be all out to impress his Japanese chiefs from Yamaha in Motegi this weekend. In the closing stages of the 2003 championship the young Italian lies fifteenth in the championship standings, a position which belies some of the impressive race-moves Melandri has made.

“I quite like the Motegi track because the asphalt is good, and I can normally find a good grip there as it’s not too bumpy. Grip was one of my main problems at the last race in Rio so hopefully it should be much better in Motegi. There are a few hairpins which I like. The biggest problem is the weather, which can be overcast and rainy.

“I came second in Motegi last year on the 250cc, and the year before that was terrible because I had to go to hospital in a helicopter after an accident. My last race in Japan with the M1 earlier this year ended badly when I crashed out on the first day and had to miss that race and the following race. In a way that first stage of the season made me stronger because it made me realise how difficult this class can be, and it gave me time to focus on my training programme. I’m sure that next year I will look back on this year and be grateful for a difficult first season in MotoGP.

“Obviously Japan will be a very important race for me again as I would really like to do well in front of my Yamaha bosses. Many Yamaha staff have only had one chance to see me ride in Japan before my accident on the Friday in Suzuka at the start of the year. Hopefully I can get a result that will make them proud.”

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

Like many things designed and built by the Japanese, Motegi is unsurpassed in its design and circuit quality. The surface is seamlessly smooth, offering high levels of grip, and the facilities are exceptional. Yet despite this high attention to technical detail the Motegi layout looks more like a series of uncreative drag strips linked together by continual radius second gear corners. Even so it is still technical enough so that outright power isn’t the be all and end all when it comes to winning races here.

In fact in some respects too much aggressive power can be a hindrance at this particular venue. For this reason Yamaha has increased its efforts to further improve the YZR-M1’s tractability and predictability on the power. These performance characteristics are essential since most of the power will be driven through second and third gear while exiting slow speed turns, only moments after completing some rather heavy braking.

This combination of hard braking to hard acceleration over a very short distance complicates things further for the riders with aggressive weight transfer a catalyst for instability. Although circuits such as Le Mans share a similar reputation of a stop and go layout Yamaha’s success with such a layout is yet to present itself in Motegi. For this reason a balanced and usable base geometry will be the focal point for those riding the M1.

CARLOS CHECA : INFORMATION
Age: 30
Lives: Great Ayton, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 2 (500)
First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500)
First GP: Europe, 1993 (125)
GP starts: 147 (27 x MotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125)
Pole positions: 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 500)
First pole: Spain, 1998 (500)
Motegi 2002 results. Grid: 4th, Race: 5th

MARCO MELANDRI : INFORMATION
Age: 21
Lives: Derby, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 17 (10 x 250, 7 x 125)
First GP victory: Assen, 1998 (125)
First GP: Brno, 1997 (125)
GP starts: 85 (9 x MotoGP, 42 x 250, 34 x 125)
Pole positions: 8
First pole: Sachsenring, 1998 (125)

Motegi MotoGP lap record
1:49.947 (Alex Barros (Honda) 2002)

Circuit best lap
1:49.947 (Daijiro Kato (Honda) 2002)


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

THREE-STRONG SUZUKI SQUAD PUSH FORWARD

Team Suzuki Press Office Monday 29th September 2003.
Team Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins will have more than a little extra help at next weekend’s Pacific GP at Motegi.

As well as the presence of top-ranking factory and race department staff and engineers at the circuit outside Tokyo, a third Suzuki will be out for the 13th MotoGP of the season, ridden by factory tester and wild card regular Akira Ryo.

The expectation for the race is to go for the best results possible while concentrating also on developing the Suzuki GSV-R racing prototype, with the long-term aim of coming back fighting in 2004. But the presence of Ryo and the location of the race mean that anything could happen.

Last year, Ryo (35) achieved the all-new GSV-R’s best result, finishing a close second at the opening round at Suzuka in the Japanese GP. A combination of wet weather, intimate track knowledge, and a close understanding of the new machine’s responses meant the rider from Tokyo was able to lead much of the race, finishing close behind eventual champion Valentino Rossi.

Ryo will be riding a rather different machine from those of Roberts and Hopkins, incorporating experimental developments in both engine and chassis. As test rider for the GSV-R project, his main task is to push development forward. But his many laps of the Motegi circuit plus the boost of racing the world’s best on his home ground mean he will be trying his hardest for a good race result.

Bad weather would help Ryo’s quest, and give Roberts and Hopkins an extra opportunity to exploit their proven skills in difficult conditions – and it is always a possibility at the Twin-Ring Motegi circuit, built among mountains almost midway between the cities of Mito and Utsonamiya.

“We’re coming to the end of a difficult season, and it would be good to get some improved results to show our progress – and our intentions for next season,” said team manager Garry Taylor. “The riders, team and factory staff haven’t let up working all year. I think we all need some sort of a reward for our efforts.

Roberts, who won the 500cc World Championship on a Suzuki in 2000 and has twice claimed victory at Motegi, has had a down-beat season, interrupted by injury, and spent working flat out with the team and factory engineers to maximise the potential of the 990cc GSV-R, and solve the teething problems with its ground-breaking new technologies. His machine development skills have been invaluable to the project. Roberts finished a strong sixth in last year’s race.

Hopkins, in his first year with the team, will be returning to action at Motegi after missing the last race, two weekends before at Rio de Janeiro. Hopkins fell heavily in qualifying, and though lucky to escape fractures, he was unable to take part in the race. Last year, he finished 14th, just in the points, riding a 500cc two-stroke.

The Pacific GP is the 13th of 16 rounds, and the first in a trio of back-to-back flyway events, moving on to Sepang in Malaysia and Phillip Island in Australia before the finale in Valencia in November. Ryo will be racing as a wild card in the Malaysian round as well as at Motegi.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – MOTEGI LIKE THE REST
Racing-wise, we are in the position where we have to go for the best possible result, and hope to finish in the points, and Motegi will be no different. The advantage will be that Suzuki’s top racing engineers and managers will be there to see our problems for themselves, and to discuss with us how to solve them.

JOHN HOPKINS – READY TO RACE AGAIN
I got all checked out back in the USA, and it turns out I have a torn muscle in my left calf, which is still real tender; and I sprained my wrist pretty good, and I’ve been having trouble holding on to the bars of a road bike. But I’ve been cycling, and I should be a lot better for race weekend. I like the track … there’s a lot of hard braking corners, and I don’t mind a bit of hard braking!

ABOUT THIS RACE
This is the fourth Pacific GP at Motegi, inaugurated in 2000 to give the Japanese factories and riders a second race on home soil, as well as the established Suzuka round. This makes Japan the second country on the current calendar to have more than one GP – the other being Spain, with three rounds. But this is the fifth visit to the spectacular if sterile Twin Ring Motegi motor sports and driver education facility, where a full banked tri-oval circuit is another major feature, along with a museum and extensive other facilities. In 1999, the Japanese GP was held there for one year. Motegi is rather remote, with access by road only, in hilly country surrounded by dense forest and small farms. Its advantage is its proximity to the Tokyo hub, some 60 miles north east of the city sprawl.

ABOUT THIS TRACK
The Twin Ring is actually two circuits – the US-style banked oval, with its own pits, grandstands and infrastructure, and the 2.98-mile road-racing track, with pits and paddock within the oval, and the track looping out under the banking through an underpass, then returning through another tunnel for the final chicane back onto the short pit straight. Precise computer-designed corners loop the track back and forth within the oval, with more of the same outside – mainly slow corners linked by short power-burst straights. It seems a sterile design, but there is enough rise and fall in the terrain to inject interest. “It’s a surprisingly fun track,” said double winner Kenny Roberts Jr.

RACE DATA
Twin Ring Motegi
Circuit Length: 2.983 miles / 4.801 km.
Lap Record: 1:49.947 – 97.679 mph / 157.199 km/h. A Barros (Honda), 2002
2002 Race Winner: Barros
2002 Race Distance: 24 laps, 71.592 miles / 115.224 km
2002 Race Average: 44:18.913 – 96.938 mph / 156.006 km/h
2002 Fastest Race Lap: see lap record
2002 Pole Position: D Kato (Honda), 1:49.052
2002 Kenny Roberts: Sixth, qualified eighth (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)
2002 Sete Gibernau: DNF, qualified 11th (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)
2002 John Hopkins: 14th, qualified 16th (Red Bull Yamaha YZR500)


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

Proton Team KR: Motegi Preview
Proton KR V5 faces the rivals at Motegi


The Proton KR V5 – independent challenger to the might of the motorcycle industry – is in the heartland of its strongest rivals at Motegi next weekend. The second race of the year in Japan is a major event for all four factories, and they will have the big guns out.

For Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki, riding the England-built and Malaysian-backed 990cc V5 in only its seventh race, the challenge will be difficult, but the potential rewards sweet. Still at an early stage of race-track development programme, the howling racers are already knocking on the door of the top 15. To claim first points in Japan would be a major boost, after a season of almost day-and-night work.

“The machines at Motegi will be more or less the same as we had at Brazil, with more engine development work going on back in Britain, hopefully to be ready before the end of the season,” said team manager Chuck Aksland.

At the last race at Rio, Aoki was well up in the top 15 when he was sidelined by a fuel pump problem. McWilliams also ran in the points, finishing 16th, just off the scoreboard. This was another improvement after the team’s first double finish in Portugal, in 19th and 20th places.

“We’re knocking on the door of the points, and if we could pick up one or two, Motegi would be a good place to do it … but it’s going to be tough,” continued Aksland.

“It’s a stop-and-go track, and it hasn’t favoured us in the past. On the other hand, our Bridgestone tyres could help us out,” he added. Motegi is a major test track for the fast-improving new Japanese tyres, for whom Brazil brought a first rostrum finish, with Makoto Tamada’s Honda third. He is the only other rider to use Bridgestones.

“It’s Nobu’s home GP, so we will be working to get him a decent finish there. Then next weekend is the Malaysian GP, which is the home race for Proton, so that’s another important event for the whole team,” said Aksland.

The Pacific GP is the first of a trio of gruelling flyaway races. Seven days later the 14th round takes place at Sepang outside Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, then the Australian GP is at Phillip Island the next Sunday.

Jeremy McWilliams – Something to shout about
This track is going to be a bit of a struggle. It’s point and squirt – our lack of horsepower will show up, and there aren’t enough turns to make up for it. I’m not going to get my hopes too high and there’s a lot of work still to be done, but the bike’s been getting better every race, and it would be nice to give the engineer’s something to shout about. I’ll go on doing my best, and also try and develop the bike a bit further.

Nobuatsu Aoki – Home race for me and the tyres
This is my second race at home, and that is always important. I will have lots of friends and fans at the track, and I will do my best for them. For sure it will be difficult, the bike is still at an early stage. But we made a big jump forward in Brazil, and you never know what could happen. I expect the Bridgestone tyres should work really well, because they have done a lot of testing at Motegi.