From a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:

The challenge commences

At last everything is ready for the start of a new MotoGP season filled with emotion, and which begins on the African continent this weekend. The Phakisa circuit sits on the outskirts of the mining town of Welkom, from where a third of South Africa’s gold originates.

The technical track is a real challenge for riders and teams alike with the 1350-metre altitude meaning engines lose power due to the thinner air. The other challenge comes from the constantly changing conditions of the track surface, which lacks grip initially, but then improves throughout the weekend as it is cleaned by the bikes lapping.

For the d´Antin MotoGP riders, this Welkom event represents the start of a great new adventure, with their debuts in the new elite category of motorcycling.

Neil Hodgson and Rubén Xaus arrive in South Africa at a track neither knows at all, yet both are desperate to ride in Welkom to make their own minds up about it.

Hodgson is optimistic, although he mainly believes this should be seen as yet another testing session: “Bad weather has affected us in our recent tests and I think that we are coming in to this race still learning to gel together, but nevertheless I am keen to get into action. The circuit looks a little strange to me, but I’ll have to wait until the first practice sessions to make any valid conclusions. In principle my aim is to fight to be amongst the top ten on Sunday. This would be like a first win for me, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us to do before then.”

Xaus is in much the same mind as his team-mate: “I’ve never been to Welkom before, and although I walked around it as soon as I got here, until the first sessions get underway, I won’t be able to get a fixed idea. I’d only seen the circuit on television before now, and it looks very different to how it does here in the flesh. The good temperature will make up for things though, because after bad weather in Spain at the last tests, it’s nice to be in a place where it’s hot. As regards my objectives this weekend, at the moment I’m only thinking about learning, and getting a feel for the new championship.”