From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

Valencia Grand Prix
Valencia, Spain
October 31, November 1/2 2003

CHECA TO BE JOINED BY ABE IN 2003 SEASON FINALE
Exactly 30 weeks since the 2003 MotoGP season kicked off at the Japanese Grand Prix in April, a bizarre twist of fate now brings the Fortuna Yamaha Team back to a similar situation to the one it faced for the season-opening round. Just as Norick Abe stepped in to replace Marco Melandri after his serious first morning practice accident in Suzuka, Japanese Abe will once again fly the flag for Yamaha’s factory team this weekend by replacing the young Italian rider for the Valencia Grand Prix. Melandri dislocated his right shoulder in a fall during the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island nearly two weeks ago, and will undergo surgery this week to repair the damage to his shoulder cap. Abe will join Carlos Checa in the Fortuna Yamaha Team’s Valencia line-up.

Spanish rider Carlos Checa last rode at the Valencia circuit during Fortuna Yamaha’s winter testing and is looking forward to racing there again. The recently turned 31-year-old has had an interesting past at the Spanish circuit, last year narrowly escaping injury in a start-line collision. Having qualified fifth, Checa was looking forward to a good ride but he unfortunately stalled his YZR-M1 as the pack pulled away from the starting grid, and was rammed from behind by fast moving Jose Luis Cardoso. Neither rider was hurt but Checa was disappointed to miss out on the last chance of the year to pull off a good result. The previous year Checa was forced to start the Valencia GP from the pit lane after a sighting-lap crash. He carved his way through the 20-strong pack of riders to a stunning fourth place finish.

This year Checa would love to please his local fans with a podium finish, and has been enjoying set-up improvements to his M1 machine at the past few races. He currently lies eighth in the championship standings and is keen to gain extra points and if possible improve his position in Valencia.

“It’s my last chance this year to go for it in Valencia,” said Checa. “Of course my crew and I have tried our hardest all season but for one reason or another things haven’t gone quite the way we hoped. Hopefully in front of my home crowd of fans I can give them something to cheer about this weekend.

“The settings that we used in winter testing won’t really apply now because of the difference in conditions but at the last races we have found a good direction, and hopefully that will work in Valencia as well. My target is to get the maximum points I can. Valencia is quite hard work because there are so many corners so the bike needs very light handling. It’s a fun circuit to ride at because it’s an amphitheatre-style layout for the crowd, and you can hear the echoes of their cheers all around the circuit.”

MELANDRI TO MISS VALENCIA DUE TO SHOULDER OPERATION
Melandri was on fine form in what was his last Grand Prix of 2003, leading some of the first half of the 27-lap race, and fighting amongst the top three riders. He made some impressively daring moves at the high-speed circuit but was unfortunately high-sided out of the race at half-distance. The 21-year-old sought expert medical advice on his return to Italy last week and has since decided to proceed with an operation this week. Although saddened that he will not be able to participate in this weekend’s Spanish race, Melandri and his team feel that the operation makes sense in order to avoid further risk of injury and to ensure a full and speedy recovery. The 250cc World Champion currently lies fifteenth in the championship standings in his MotoGP rookie season, and expects to be back in action for Yamaha’s winter testing in January 2004.

“It’s a real pity that Marco cannot race in Valencia because he gave such an impressive performance in Phillip Island, and made many improvements towards the end of the season,” commented Fortuna Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio. “We are really happy with the progress he has made this year, and having discussed his injury with him we decided together that it would be for the best for him to undergo surgery on his shoulder this week. That way Marco will be able to start testing for 2004 in January in perfect condition. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to him coming back even stronger for 2004.

“We have nominated Norick as his replacement, who we know very well, and who is the perfect replacement under these circumstances. He has always been a good ambassador for Yamaha, and I’m sure he can do a good race in Valencia.

“This will be one of Carlos’ home Grands Prix, and as the last race of the season it’s his last opportunity to try to get the best result possible before winter testing begins for 2004.”

This weekend’s Valencia Grand Prix in Spain is the sixteenth round of the championship, and marks the final of the 2003 MotoGP season. The closing race is always a popular event, and an important opportunity for the riders to make their mark before the five-month interval away from racing. What is known as the “off-season” brings no chance to relax, as riders and their teams embark on a busy testing schedule throughout the winter months before the 2004 season restarts in April.

ABE LOOKING FORWARD TO CHAMPIONSHIP COMEBACK
Norick Abe’s relationship with Yamaha goes back a long way. The Japanese rider first rode for the marque in 1994, when he replaced an injured Daryl Beattie in Kenny Roberts Snr’s Yamaha effort in the 500cc series. By the following year Abe had earned himself a permanent place in the Roberts squad, and he remained there for two years while he proved his reputation for consistency and gained a first victory in Suzuka in 1996. Then it was on to Yamaha Team Rainey for the next two years, where he achieved a string of podium finishes. Abe’s next move was to the Spanish-based Antena 3 Yamaha d’Antin team, where he remained until just last year.

In 2003 Abe has performed an official role as Yamaha’s test rider, scheduled to race as a wildcard rider at several of the MotoGP championship races. However, he was asked to stand in for Marco Melandri with the Fortuna Yamaha Team at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka in April this year, when the young Italian was injured during the first day of practice. Abe raced both in the first round at Suzuka and the ensuing race in Welkom, while Melandri convalesced, and he finished eleventh and eighth respectively. Since Welkom Abe has also raced at the Le Mans and Sachsenring as a wildcard, finishing eleventh and tenth respectively. Abe is delighted to be representing Yamaha’s factory team in this weekend’s Valencia Grand Prix.

“I am really looking forward to riding as a substitute for Marco in Valencia,” said the 28-year-old Japanese rider. “I haven’t raced since the German Grand Prix in July but I have been maintaining my physical condition since then, however, by training as much as I can. So I think I’m in pretty good shape right now.

“I do feel a bit of pressure now after three months away from the circuit. Before I leave Japan for Valencia this week, I plan to go riding at a motocross track a couple of times as I’ve always found it useful preparation. Valencia isn’t one of my best tracks but nevertheless, now that I have this chance to race again, I am certainly going to try my hardest to do well. I won’t go into this thinking that Valencia isn’t my favourite track, I am just going to give it my all.”


TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
The Valencia circuit has good positive camber and an abrasive surface, however the combination of its undulating layout, stop-and-go corners, bumps, and a tight and twisty design increases the chances of front-end crashes. In order to achieve front-end feedback, the Fortuna Yamahas will sport a geometry that will raise the front slightly compared to what is run at most other circuits, with the rear lowered. This will allow for stability under brakes and a solid front-end through the transition as the rider trail brakes into the turn. With the forks set to use their full stroke the agility of the bike is not compromised to too great an extent.

A common mistake is to focus too much on agility by loading up the front with a more aggressive geometry. Experience has shown that this only leads to a loss of front-end feel and, eventually, a loss of confidence. With a more stable bike the rider can be more assertive and therefore more likely to produce a faster lap time. With the YZR-M1 much of this front-end feel will be sought through the bike’s rear suspension unit. The movement of the rear shock will be tuned to offer a linear action, and it will be dialled in to deal with the higher loads produced by such a powerful bike driving off such well cambered slow-speed corners. This will also help reduce the likelihood of the bike trying to wheelie off the turns.

Since acceleration is a key factor Yamaha will target the engine performance towards throttle linearity and good low to mid range. This will be more essential for a fast lap time than for an outright top speed, but even so over-rev must be factored into the equation.


CARLOS CHECA : INFORMATION
Age: 31
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: 150 (30 x MotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125)
Pole positions: 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 500)
First pole: Spain, 1998 (500)
Valencia 2002 results. Grid: 5th, Race: DNF

NORICK ABE : INFORMATION
Age: 28
Lives: Sitges, Spain
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 3 (500)+
First GP victory: Japan, 1996 (500)
First GP: Japan, 1994 (500)
GP starts: 139 (19 x MotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125)
Pole positions: 0
Valencia 2002 results (YZR-M1). Grid: 20th, Race: 7th

Valencia MotoGP lap record
1:33.873 (Alex Barros (Honda) 2002)

Circuit best lap
1:33.211 (Max Biaggi (Yamaha) 2002)


More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2003
ROUND 16 – VALENCIA GRAND PRIX
27TH OCTOBER 2003 – EVENT PREVIEW

FUCHS KAWASAKI HEAD FOR SEASON FINALE

Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Andrew Pitt and Garry McCoy, head for this weekend’s season finale at Valencia full of motivation, and determined to end the 2003 MotoGP World Championship on a high note.

Pitt scored Kawasaki’s first Grand Prix points for over two decades when he finished twelfth in his debut at Valencia last year; his best result to date. A former World Supersport Champion, Pitt has conquered a steep learning curve over the past 12 months and the Australian is keen to improve upon his personal best finish on his return to the 4km Ricardo Tormo circuit this weekend.

For McCoy the Valencia GP, which he won in 2000, will have added significance because it will mark his final race appearance aboard the Ninja ZX-RR. Although he will not ride for Kawasaki in 2004, McCoy is aiming to finish the season on a high, bringing down the curtain on long season of testing and racing.

McCoy’s wet race ninth place in the French GP at Le Mans remains the best result by a Kawasaki rider this season and improving on that is a driving motivation for both riders this weekend.

And while McCoy prepares to move on when the chequered flag falls in Valencia the work will not stop for the Kawasaki Racing Team, who will stay on in Spain for a test session next week. This will be the next important step forward in the development program of Kawasaki’s MotoGP project.

Since last week’s home Grand Prix at Phillip Island, both McCoy and Pitt have enjoyed a few days beach side vacation in Australia. Pitt took in the four-wheel action of the CART Champ Car World Series race at Surfers Paradise; while McCoy spent time with family and friends and made sure his Kawasaki jet skis remained fully operational.

The Valencia track is a stadium-style layout with excellent spectator views from huge grandstands, although the compromise is a convoluted design with a series of switchback, stop-and-go corners. Only a recent addition to the MotoGP calendar this will be just the fifth running of the Valencia GP, which started in 1999.

Andrew Pitt
“My best result so far came at Valencia last year, but I’ve go to admit that it’s not one of my favourite tracks. It’s tight and twisty, which is fine if you’re on a Supersport 600, but not so good when you’re trying to muscle something as big and fast as a MotoGP machine around; it’s hard work! Having said that, I want to end the season with a good result, so I’ll be focussing on a strong qualifying run this weekend; starting further up the grid is a big help and I want to be closer to the front than I have been in previous races. When everything is finished after the Valencia race and test next week I’m looking forward to some time off. I really haven’t had break away from riding, either racing or testing, for two seasons, so it will be good to freshen up ready for next year.”

Garry McCoy
“I never expected things to be easy during Kawasaki’s first year in MotoGP, but it’s fair to say things haven’t turned out exactly as I thought they would. Even though this is my final race aboard the Kawasaki I’ll be going flat out as usual and would like to finish the season with my best result. I’ve been on the podium twice at Valencia, although I think the team understands that winning like I did here three years ago is beyond the reach of the ZX-RR at the moment. Like me, the team is very competitive and we all want better results and everyone has worked hard this year getting the ZX-RR project up and running. Kawasaki have thrown all their effort and technology into the project and I’m sure the work will reward them in the future.”


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Information:

PRAMAC RACING PREVIEW

MotoGP – Round 16 – Valencia (Spain)

30 September – 1/2 November 2003

Preview

GRAND FINALE: LAST CHAMPIONSHIP RACE IN VALENCIA AMPHITHEATRE

After a year of thrilling races, the 2003 season comes to a close. The “grand finale”, after the long tour overseas, is set for Catalunya, in the modern facilities at Valencia: the motorcycling stadium. A sort of amphitheatre, because the technical circuit with breathtaking corners was designed for the public: it is like an immense stadium where the entire track can be seen from the stands. Sporting passion reaches soccer-like fever pitch in this 150,000-place facility, making Valencia one of the most intriguing events in the MotoGP.

Well known by the riders, the Comunitat Valenciana is one of the most used circuits in Europe for the winter tests. The colossal paddock area and all the facilities are modern and recently built. The technical features of the track and the mild climate ensured by its proximity to the sea mean that the Valencia circuit is also often used by the F1 teams for their tests.

THE CIRCUIT.
Length: 4,005 metres, 9 left-handers, 5 right-handers
longest straight: 876 metres
Maximum width: 12 metres
Year of construction: 1999.

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

CIRCUIT RECORDS.
125: 1:40.252, Jenkner 2002
250: 1:36.398, Nakano, 2000
MotoGP: 1:3.873, Barros, 2002.

CAMEL PRAMAC PONS TEAM WINS WORLD “VICE-CHAMPION” TITLE ONE RACE BEFORE END

The Pramac group has scored a significant success in the motorcycling world. The race at Phillip Island in Australia assigned Camel Pramac Pons Team the title of world vice champion in the special team ratings. The eleven points scored by Tohru Ukawa “down under” put the team into second place in the definitive overall ratings.

Max Biaggi, who went for a slide on the detritus left on the track by a contact between two riders, got back into the race but failed to finish in the points zone. Even so, the important achievement of the Camel Pramac Pons Team in the 2003 season is due to his extraordinary consistency, to his two outright victories and to his impressive number of rostrum placings. Third overall, the four-times world champion Massimiliano Biaggi and the Japanese rider in the team flying the yellow-blue banner, Ukawa, are ready for the final scene in the land of Spain: a circuit that gives them yet one more chance of success.

MAKOTO TAMADA MAKES TOP TEN IN AUSTRALIA

Tenth past the chequered flag in Australia, Makoto Tamada is preparing for the last race of the season in Valencia. This is a circuit he knows, since he came here for a series of tests in the month of March, so it will not be an unknown factor as so many of the tracks have been for him in his first year in the MotoGP. The consistently improving Bridgestone tyres have proved in this part of the season that they have enormous potential, and in Valencia they may well confirm the good results the Japanese manufacturer has already been obtaining in its first four-stroke MotoGP season.

Tamada is currently 11th in the overall standings, 10 points behind Alexander Barros who is now tenth. Makoto’s ambitious objective and dream could be to bridge the gap separating him from the Brazilian and finish his debut year in the MotoGP in the TOP 10.

Makoto is also third in the “Rookie of the Year” ratings for riders in their first year in the MotoGP and, unless there are any great surprises, he should end the year in this position, just after Hayden and Bayliss.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

HARD TRAIL ENDS WITH HIGHER HOPES

Team Suzuki Press Office – October 27th 2003
Valencia GP – Round 16. November 2, 2003. Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

The last race of a high-intensity and epically competitive MotoGP season puts a full stop to a gruelling round-the-world chase.

For Suzuki, the Valencia GP represents something else as well.

The closing round of the year is another chance to feel out end-of-season improvements to the 990cc GSV-R racer; to feed back crucial information to designers working on next year’s machine. And to repeat the double-points result at the last of the three flyaway races, last weekend’s Australian GP.

2000 World Champion Kenny Roberts claimed his best finish of the year in ninth place at Phillip Island, and team-mate John Hopkins was a fighting 12th, in his return from a controversial one-race suspension.

Fighting to be in the top ten is not the factory’s traditional agenda. The aim is always to be fighting for race wins and championships – that is where Suzuki belongs. The factory plans to get back there with an evolutionary Mk3 version of the four-cam 16-valve V4 racing motor. This last race of 2003 will add yet more data to the engineers’ fact sheets.

The improved year-end performances of the 2003 version of Suzuki’s fastest-ever racing machine show that development is moving in the right direction. The biggest step forward came with a fresh round of hardware at home in Japan, for the Pacific GP at Motegi. Since then, the team has been racing every weekend, in Malaysia and then in Australia.

Valencia follows a much-needed weekend off. “As always, there will be new bits and pieces to try for this race. But the main object is to sustain the improvement achieved since Motegi,” said team manager Garry Taylor.

“Factory engineers gave us new parts there that improved overall performance, and they showed other new development ideas. The better package gave everybody a bit of a boost after a difficult season. What is more, it showed in improving lap times and race results.

“We need to keep that momentum going at Valencia, to go into the winter break still moving in the right direction,” he concluded.

KENNY ROBERTS – KEEPING CONSTRUCTIVE: I’ve been keeping realistic goals over the last races. We know what our bike is capable of. The important thing is to give the factory engineers the information they need to build a competitive bike. As I said in Australia, I know I am capable of winning these races, and I believe Suzuki is as well.

JOHN HOPKINS – BRAKING FOR RESULTS: Valencia is such a tight track, and you’re hard on the brakes a lot of the time. That’s pretty much good for my style, so I’m expecting to have some fun. I also want to end my first season with Suzuki with something decent. At the first race in Spain this season I was seventh, my best result. That’d be something to shoot for.

ABOUT THIS TRACK: Named in honour of the late former World Champion Ricardo Tormo, the track at Valencia was first used in 1999, and typifies the new-millennium style of stadium circuit. Huge grandstands and natural hillside terraces offer spectators a view of almost the entire 2.489-mile length from a number of possible vantage points. This means the lap has been crammed into a very compact area, looping back and forth, and then back again in front of the massed spectators. Inevitably this means a lot of hard braking and some pushing and shoving – but careful design has given the track a fast straight and some challenging faster corners as well. The lap starts with an epic left-hander, and closes with a series of medium-speed corners taken at high lean angles, but requiring both braking and acceleration – a stimulating riding challenge.

ABOUT THIS RACE: The European season started in Spain at Jerez, and closes at Valencia for a fifth year in succession. This year, for the second time, the Valencia race also closes the year of racing. With the MotoGP title decided two races ago, along with the 125 title, only the 250 title remains to be decided. But either way the Spanish fans, passionate about MotoGP racing, will jam the stands at their third race of the year.

GP DATA
Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia
Circuit Length: 2.489 miles – 4.005 km
Lap Record: 1:33.873 – 95.44 mph, 153.590 km/h, A Barros (Honda) 2002
2002 Race Winner: Alex Barros
2002 Race Average: 47:22.634 – 94.89 mph / 152.7141 km/h
2002 Fastest Race Lap: see record
2002 Pole Position: M Biaggi (Yamaha) 1:33.211
2002 Kenny Roberts: Did not finish, qualified 14th (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)
2002 Sete Gibernau: 13th, qualified tenth (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)
2002 John Hopkins: 11th, qualified 17th (Red Bull Yamaha 500)


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN AIM TO FINISH AMAZING DEBUT SEASON WITH A FLOURISH
Sunday’s Marlboro Valencia Grand Prix marks the end of the historic 2003 MotoGP World Championship. This year will long be remembered as the year during which MotoGP became a fully four-stroke series and as the year that marked the arrival of the remarkable Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici.

The hugely impressive Italian V4 has blazed a trail through the 2003 MotoGP series, winning its first Grand Prix , scoring no less than eight podium finishes and starting three GPs from pole position. Such results have helped Ducati take second place in the MotoGP Constructors’ World Championship, a wonderful achievement from the factory’s first Grand Prix campaign in more than three decades.

Now riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss want to crown the Ducati Marlboro Team’s debut MotoGP campaign with another great result at Valencia. And Sunday’s season finale is a notable event for both men: Capirossi’s 200th Grand Prix start and the race that marks the completion of Bayliss’ rookie MotoGP season.


DESMOSEDICI MARKS ONE YEAR OF DELIGHTING RACING FANS
It was at Valencia exactly one year ago that the Desmosedici MotoGP bike broke cover for the first time – Troy Bayliss and test rider Vittoriano Guareschi giving the machine its public debut in front of 120,000 appreciative fans. Since then the machine’s achievements have delighted race fans around the world, the V4’s fabulous performance and stunning exhaust note adding a whole new dimension to GP racing.

Of course, the Ducati Marlboro Team knows full well that 2003 is just the beginning of its Grand Prix effort. While Bayliss and Loris Capirossi have been wowing race fans with the bright red V4, research and development have continued apace in the factory’s Bologna race department. And the team begins its own preparations for 2004 on Tuesday November 4. That’s right – Bayliss, Capirossi and the rest of the crew get one day off between the end of their 2003 season and the start of 2004 preseason tests!

“This has been an amazing year for us, we can hardly believe that it’s already almost over,” says Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “We’ve enjoyed some very high emotions over the past seven months which have helped the season to go by very quickly. One win, eight podiums and three pole positions is an incredible achievement in our first year, plus we’ve taken second in the Constructors’ World Championship and Loris has secured fourth in the Riders’ World Championship. Such results were just a dream to us this time last year.

“It’s a pity that Troy may lose the fifth place in the championship that he held for so long, but he’s still had a great debut season in MotoGP. Let’s hope we can celebrate a great year with two impressive results at Valencia. And we won’t be resting on our laurels once the racing is over – we start testing for next year on Tuesday!

“Finally, my thanks to everyone involved in this project: the riders, the team, the factory, our technical partners at Shell Advance and Michelin, plus, of course, all our fans. We appreciate their support and look forward to an even better 2004.”

While the team is already looking towards next year, it must now focus its attentions on achieving the best-possible performance at the tricky, slow-speed Valencia venue.

“Valencia is a very strange track,” affirms Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “It combines a very twisty stop-and-go section with a long main straight. The straight isn’t one of the fastest in GP racing, because the preceding corner is very slow, but it is long.

“Engine rideability and traction are the crucial performance factors at Valencia. And there are some very tricky sections – like the final fast left, which riders tackle with full throttle and very little load on the rear tyre as they crest the brow of the hill.

“We don’t plan to alter the engine mapping for such a tight and slow circuit – we prefer that our riders stay familiar with the bike’s behaviour from one track to another, so they know exactly how it reacts. We tested at Valencia last November but the bike has changed a lot since then, so I don’t think that data will be of much use this weekend. But at least both our riders have ridden the bike at this track, so we’re not going into it blind as we have done at places like Motegi and Rio.”


CAPIROSSI HITS DOUBLE CENTURY
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi reaches a remarkable landmark in his illustrious career at the Marlboro Valencia GP – his 200th Grand Prix start. The little Italian came into GP racing as a fresh-faced teenager in the spring of 1990. He was an immediate success, winning that year’s 125 World Championship at his first attempt. Since then he’s won another two titles in the 125 and 250 classes and several premier-class GP successes, most notably his historic win in June’s Marlboro Catalan MotoGP race.

“It has been an honour to race the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici in its debut year,” says Capirossi. “And it was an even greater honour to win the bike’s first victory. June 15 was a very special day for me, the team and everyone involved with Ducati. Now we return to Spain and try to repeat that success, and I can hardly believe that this is my 200th World Championship race. Valencia won’t be easy because it’s a very unusual circuit, with many slow-speed corners that lead into each other. It’s maybe not the ideal racetrack for a 220-plus horsepower motorcycle! However, I’m sure we can be competitive, we had a great GP in Australia two weeks ago, we just need to maintain our progress from there.”

Capirossi finished third in the 1999 Valencia 250 GP but hasn’t had much luck in past three premier-class GPs at the track.


BAYLISS COMPLETES HIS ROOKIE YEAR
If team-mate Loris Capirossi won the Desmosedici’s first victory, Troy Bayliss has had a similarly impressive rookie MotoGP campaign with the Ducati Marlboro Team. The former World Superbike champion had so much to learn in 2003 – a new kind of motorcycle and many new racetracks – but he has consistently amazed GP regulars with his speed, determination and aggression.

So far Bayliss has scored two front-row starts and three podium finishes, coming within a second of taking another victory for the Desmosedici at August’s Czech GP. He returns to action at the Marlboro Valencia Grand Prix after an Australian GP that promised so much – the Aussie qualified on the front row but crashed out during the early stages, sustaining mild concussion.

“We were up for a good result at Phillip Island, but that’s racing, you’ve got to take the knocks,” says Bayliss, who hopes to make amends at Valencia, where he has scored race wins for Ducati in World Superbike. “You always want a good result in the last race to take you into the winter with a smile on your face, so that’s what we’ll be going for this weekend. I know Valencia pretty well, so we’ll be working hard to use everything we’ve learned so far this year. It’s been an up and down season for us – I’ve been up the front a few times but I’ve not won a race, and that’s the only reason I go racing – to win.”


THE TRACK
Valencia is the second-slowest circuit in GP racing with an average lap speed of just 154kmh, marginally faster than Estoril, venue for September’s Marlboro Portuguese GP. Most of the track’s corners are slow, in-and-out turns, grouped closely together, this unusual layout affording spectators a mostly unobstructed view of the entire circuit – a real rarity in the world of motorsport. It’s an immensely physical circuit with riders afforded little rest between bouts of heavy acceleration, braking and cornering.

This weekend Valencia hosts its fifth Grand Prix after featuring on the World Championship calendar for the first time in 1999. The circuit is one of several recently created in Spain, where motorcycling racing is the nation’s second most popular sport, after football. The venue is officially christened the Ricardo Tormo circuit, in honour of the late Spanish rider, a former 50cc World Champion.


VALENCIA: 4.005 km / 2,503 miles
Lap record: Alex Barros (Honda), 1m 33.873s (153.590kmh/95.436mph)
Pole position 2002: Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team), 1m 33.211


DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DATA LOGS
TROY BAYLISS
Age: 34
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 16 (15xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Valencia 2002 results: DNS

LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 30
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 199 (29xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (