From a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

ROSSI HEADS TITLE RUN-IN AS MOTOGP HEADS EAST

As the massive MotoGP operation packs its considerable bags and heads east for three gruelling back-to-back races at Motegi in Japan, Sepang in Malaysia and Phillip Island in Australia, Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) is in pole position to win his third world premier class title.

His nearest rival Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) is now 51 points behind Rossi with four races remaining. And so Rossi would have to fail to finish at least two races with Gibernau winning them both for the Spaniard to get within one point of the reigning champion. But in a high-risk, high-stakes sport like MotoGP, nothing can ever be taken for granted when points and titles are up for grabs.

It’s mathematically conceivable that Rossi could wrap up the title at Motegi if he wins and Gibernau finishes fifteenth or lower. But the Spanish charger has found a new consistency to go with his undoubted speed and seems to have lost a habit of throwing away hard won points.

But Rossi is a remarkably consistent performer and it would take a collapse of catastrophic proportions to put the destination of this year’s title in any real doubt. With Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) lying third in the Championship, 88 points behind Rossi, it will be Honda’s title, whoever ultimately prevails.

The only way for Gibernau to maximise his chances of upsetting the flamboyant, but measured and relaxed Rossi, is to pile on the pressure from first qualifying and force the World Champion into making errors. But the wily Rossi often counts a start anywhere in the top four as good enough in real terms as a pole position. And he will know that at Motegi, a front row start will do, as pole is not as critical as it can be at tracks where turn one is a hazardous free-for-all.

Rossi, with his reputation for using free practice and even qualifying for maximising the efficiency of race set-up at the expense of a fast flying lap, is rarely pressured into making final qualifying a race in itself. If he sets pole – fine. If he doesn’t but he’s on the front row – that’s fine too. And he responds well to pressure in races, knowing that if he can’t stay with a fast rider (rare, but more common now than previously) he’ll take the points and do better next time. That makes Gibernau’s task hard – but by no means impossible.

“I will go to Japan in the same mood and just as focussed as I was in Brazil,” said the Spanish star. “We have moved forward in the last races and have been fighting for the win at every Grand Prix. We are
working well in the team and Honda has helped us, but I can only control what we have in-house. I just hope we are in as good shape in Motegi as we were in Rio. The layout of the Motegi circuit is not very technical, so it’s nothing special.”

The Twin Ring Motegi circuit was built by Honda in 1998. Called Twin Ring because the layout features an inner Grand Prix track within an outer ring that’s a banked Indy car track, it lies north west of Tokyo between Mito and Utsonomiya.

The inaugural motorcycle Grand Prix was held the year after completion in 1999 and riders liked the grippy, smooth and predictable surface, although many found the layout of the 4.801km track was short on character. Many of the turns, eight right-handers and six left-handers, are constant-radius second gear corners, requiring good traction and brisk acceleration.

The slowish turns are linked by medium-length straights, the longest of which is only 0.762km long. There are some downhill approaches to the turns which offer a degree of technical involvement for riders, but of greater concern to most is the weather, which is often the major factor at Motegi.

Rossi is more concerned that his team now fully understands how to get the best from the mighty RC211V. And where he struggled in the last four races last season, this year he can remain strong. “The end of the season is good for me,” he said. “We’ve had three good races in a row now and the team is strong. I’m focussed on getting the best from these last four races and am concentrating hard on the Championship. We understand the bike well now and are hoping for success.”

Rossi’s team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V), who has shown strongly in the second half of the season, is raring to go. “I’m really enjoying myself at the moment,” said the American rookie. “We’re working well as a team and we’re really competitive. I’ve tested at Sepang and Phillip Island and should be on the pace quickly. I’ll be pushing hard for a front row start and a podium finish before the season ends.”

Max Biaggi can’t wait to get racing at Motegi. “I would really like to get a good result here because it’s Honda’s track,” said the Italian. “The Japanese technicians know it really well and have a lot of data for setting up the bike. I always like racing in Japan because I know everything is highly professional and the track will be in excellent condition. The Twin Ring is quite stop-go but there are also some longer faster corners.”

Max’s team-mate Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) has not always tasted success at Motegi, his best result being a fourth place in 2002 in the MotoGP class, but the Japanese is ready to give it his best again. “Motegi has always been a difficult track for me, but there is plenty of grip and there are no bumps to worry about.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V), who had a fine race to the rostrum in Rio with a third place, is sure he can improve on that at Motegi. “I know the circuit very well, I’ve won there five times and I hope I can get the right settings on my RC211V so I can spend all the time getting up to peak performance for Sunday’s race. What I’m interested in is winning races and Sunday could be my best chance this season.”

Local boy Ryuichi Kiyonari (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) is another Japanese hopeful. “My home town of Kawagoe is quite near Motegi and I’ve raced and practised there quite a lot,” he said. “But I’ve not ridden the RC211V there yet. I like Motegi a lot although it is a stop-start track – and quite a difficult one too.”

The 250 class contenders are chasing Championship leader Manuel Poggiali (Aprilia) who takes a 22-point lead over Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) to Motegi. With Honda’s Tochigi Research and Development facility right on the doorstep, Rolfo will be hoping the factory can bring some extra expertise to his assistance in his Championship challenge.

“In the past I’ve not had such a good feel for this track,” said the Italian. “But I think I will enjoy it more this year with the bike I have. There are only about three technical areas where you can make up time, and the problem we will have is getting out of the slow corners onto the fast straights.”

Sebastian Porto (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) echoes Rolfo’s view. “I like Motegi,” he said. “It’s not one of my favourite tracks, but like all circuits it has some good parts I like racing on. The character of the track might not suit my bike, slow corners leading onto fast straights. The bike will handle well around the twisty parts but the straights at Motegi might well be a bit of a problem for us.”

In the 125cc category Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS125R) will be looking to stretch his Championship lead even further. The Spanish teenager currently heads his nearest challenger by 42 points, but he is taking nothing for granted as the season reaches a conclusion.

“Motegi is a very nice track,” he said. ” I’ve always had a good feeling riding there. The grip is good and the surface is very smooth, completely the opposite of Rio. Regarding the championship? I’m not going to think about it, just about the race, and no thoughts about championship strategy. At this stage it would not be smart to think about riding for a safe points position.”

Andrea Dovisioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) lies fourth in the World Championship and could finish higher if he makes the most of Motegi. “I like the track at Motegi,” he said. “I have a good feeling racing there. I really like the last part of the track, in 2002 I was fast through that section. Last year I qualified on the second row and was going well in the race but had a problem and crashed.”