From a press release issued by Ducati:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM MAKES LONG-AWAITED EUROPEAN MotoGP DEBUT

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi bring the awesome Desmosedici to Spain this weekend for its long-awaited European race debut at Jerez, the first and biggest Grand Prix of the Continental MotoGP campaign.

Bayliss, Capirossi and the 220-plus horsepower Italian V4 made headlines at the season-opening Japanese and Africa’s GPs, leading both races and dazzling fans with speed and noise – the snarling 16,000rpm Desmosedici is music to the ears of any motorsport fan.

The Ducati Marlboro Team’s entry into MotoGP has brought a whole new dynamic to the class, adding the kind of passion, colour and excitement that only the legendary Italian marque could bring. And the team’s season-opening performances have exceeded even the most optimistic expectations, Capirossi making the podium at Suzuka, Bayliss now fourth overall in the riders’ points chase and Ducati currently second in the manufacturers’ World Championship!

Jerez, which regularly attracts in excess of 200,000 fans, is the first of nine European races that make up more than half of the 16-race 2003 MotoGP campaign. The racing moves out of Europe again in late September, the season concluding at Valencia, Spain, on November 2.

GREAT RESULTS EQUAL HIGHER EXPECTATIONS
The Ducati Marlboro Team’s remarkable start to its MotoGP adventure has delighted race fans around the world. Despite the marque’s illustrious history of World Superbike success, no one quite expected so much, so soon in MotoGP. Capirossi’s and Bayliss’ speed during qualifying and racing has already put them ahead of many of the rival teams, who have much greater experience in GP racing.

And yet, as befits the team’s hard-working but laidback style, the Bologna-based crew isn’t letting the hype and hubbub affect its approach to racing, instead keeping its feet very much on the ground, knowing full well that its riders’ stunning pace only increases expectations.

“We achieved great results in the first two races,” says Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “It’s a nice feeling but the pressure within the team to stay there is very high, and we know we still have a lot of learning to do.”

The riders and engineers are particularly looking forward to Jerez, since they have some knowledge of the circuit. They commenced the Japanese GP with just a few hours of track time and went to South Africa with zero track knowledge. But they do know Jerez, having visited the circuit three times during the winter. The data gained from those tests will be crucial this weekend, even though Capirossi’s and Bayliss’ bikes have changed substantially since then, as it’s normal in a very young bike as the Desmosedici.

“The bikes are very different in set-up compared to when we last went to Jerez in February, but basically the same as they were at Welkom,” says Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “We are now much closer to having a good front/rear balance – both the riders are happy. Now when we make changes, the riders often say they don’t like them, which is a sign that the bike is much closer to how it should be! In the early stages of our testing programme the riders would like whatever changes we made.

“Last time we went to Jerez we had wheelspin problems, but traction was much better at Suzuka and Welkom, so it should be good for Jerez. We made some important changes to front-end geometry before Welkom, but both ends affect one another, you improve the front and that can help the rear, and vice versa.”

Cecchinelli expects Jerez to be a good test of the Desmosedici. “It’s a complete track, so it’s good for testing. It has fast and slow corners, uphill braking into turn one and downhill braking into the hairpin, so you need a well balanced bike, with a good compromise set-up.”

The Ducati Marlboro Team will stay at Jerez to test on Tuesday, May 13.

ALL-ACTION BAYLISS – SOME ROOKIE!
Troy Bayliss may officially be a MotoGP rookie, but he seems anything but in reality. The Australian’s all-action performances at last month’s Japanese and Africa’s GPs were nothing less than sensational, marking an extraordinary arrival in MotoGP both for himself and for the Ducati Marlboro Team.

The former World Superbike champion qualified on the fourth row for his
MotoGP debut at Suzuka but rocketed through to finish fifth, even though he was the only rider present with no race experience of the complex Japanese track. Two weeks ago at Welkom in South Africa he qualified on row three, just under 0.6 of a second from the pole position time, swept into the lead until one-third distance and finished fourth. During the race he enjoyed a frantic six-lap battle with Valentino Rossi (Honda), showing no quarter to the World Champion. For many fans the pair’s duel was the highlight of the race.

Jerez is particularly significant for Bayliss because it’s the first MotoGP event he’ll contest with any real track knowledge. The Aussie tested at Jerez three times during the winter but has yet to race in anger there. “I’m looking forward to it, because it’ll be nice to get to a track where I know my way around,” says Bayliss, who is delighted with development progress, especially with the fruits of a pre-Welkom tests at Mugello, when his crew took crucial steps forward on chassis set-up.

“Now it feels more like my bike,” he explains. “It’s better into corners and mid-turn and we’re not getting so much spin on the exits. Before, the bike always needed to be on its side, so we were right on the side of the tyre, now you can pick it up easier and get onto the fatter part of the tyre for the drive out of the corner.”

Bayliss heads to Jerez motivated, optimistic and in great shape, as his results showed at the “Granfondo 5 colli”, the renowned annual bicycle race that takes place around Bologna. “Cycling is my next passion after racing, and coming in 12th place out of a total of 1253 participants after a good 83 Km was exactly the boost I needed before Spain!”

CAPIROSSI AIMS FOR THE PODIUM AGAIN
Loris Capirossi comes to Jerez determined to fight for another podium result to back up his phenomenal third-place finish at the season-opening Japanese Grand Prix, where he astounded onlookers by leading the first few laps. The Italian followed that performance at Welkom a fortnight ago by scoring the Ducati Marlboro’s Team’s first front-row start, but he was unluckier in the race, withdrawing after two off-track excursions.

Capirossi has been awesome to behold on the Desmosedici, and he believes that Sunday’s Spanish GP offers his best chance so far of a top result with the bike, because he’s already tested the V4 there. “It’s a nice track and we had some very good tests there during the winter,” says the former 125 and 250 World Champion who lapped at record pace on his very first visit to Jerez with the new Ducati. “I’m keen to get back there to get an idea of exactly how much the bike has improved since winter testing.

“We have changed various aspects of engine and chassis set-up. We were having wheelspin trouble, but we’ve gone a long way to curing this problem. The team is great – very effective at understanding any difficulties I’m having and then doing whatever is necessary to solve them. Jerez is the kind of track where you use the tyres really hard, so you have to work towards a good compromise set-up that works consistently well with the tyres at race pace.”

Capirossi has been racing at Jerez since he started GPs in 1990, but he’s only won a single race there – the 1998 Spanish 250 GP – and he’s yet to finish in the top three in the premier GP class at the track.

THE TRACK
Constructed in 1986, Jerez hosted its first Grand Prix the following year and has remained on the World Championship calendar ever since. Through the nineties the event grew to become the most popular GP of all.

Riders love the Andalucian venue because it’s a track that rewards rider talent over machine performance. Many of the circuit’s 13 corners flow into one another, placing the emphasis on smooth, neat riding and stable, all-round machine performance. The circuit character places particular emphasis on front-tyre grip, though the many slow-speed turns also require MotoGP riders to control wheelspin as they power out of the corners. Last year the track underwent resurfacing and total reconstruction of its infrastructure.

JEREZ: 4.423km/2.748 miles
Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Honda) 1:42.920, 153.429kmh/95.336mph
Pole position 2002: Rossi 1:42.193

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DATA LOGS
TROY BAYLISS
Age: 34
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 3 (2xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Jerez 2002 results: DNS

LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 30
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
GP victories: 22 (2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 186 (16xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 33 (5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Jerez 2002 results. Grid: 3rd. Race: 4th

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI MEN DRIVING FORWARD

Next Sunday’s Spanish GP – third of 16 rounds in the World Championship – is another push in the drive to become competitive for Team Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins.

The race at Jerez, first round of the week-on/week-off European season, is the third race for the all-new Suzuki GSV-R 990cc racing prototype. Team and riders go to the Andalucian track well aware that there is much work still remaining to unleash the full potential of the beast.

Race day is devoted as always to getting the best possible results. At the same time, the two days of qualifying will see them looking at the bigger picture – and the task of finalizing race-ready base settings for the powerful and innovative V4 four-stroke. In this way, they can solve the puzzle of how to make the Suzuki GP machine perform with the same easy superiority as the world-beating GSX-R1000 street machine.

Directly after the race, the work will continue. Team Suzuki go from Jerez to the Catalunya GP track at Barcelona, for three more days of intensive testing. In this way, they will drive development forward, to unlock the latent potential of the purpose-built new machine. And to get into a position to challenge once more for the World Championship that Suzuki last won in 2000.

The victorious rider was Roberts, on a 500cc two-stroke RGV Gamma. Since then there has been a sea-change in racing, with the class opened to the powerful new 990cc prototypes in 2002. Now Kenny and new team-mate John Hopkins are working together towards playing a leading role in the new future.

So far this year, the second MotoGP season, there have been two different winners in two races – an early fulfillment of prophecies of the most competitive and exciting ever year of World Championship racing. The 24-strong grid hosts the biggest ever number of manufacturers in a field comprising no less than ten former world champions.

The Suzuki pair have finished in the points in each race, but far short of the ultimate aims of both riders, with neither able to challenge for top positions. This is another reflection of the highly competitive state of the sport, and an illustration that the full potential of the sophisticated and ground-breaking new-technology Suzuki GSV-R has yet to be achieved.

“We’ve been working very hard, and we will continue to work very hard,” said team manager Garry Taylor, facing the task in hand with the confidence and determination that inspires not only the whole team, but also the Suzuki factory staff, toiling back in Japan to find the perfect combination of engine design detail and electronic engine mapping that will help the riders push for the rostrum results they know they deserve.

To this end, the team plan to draft in extra riding experience for the three days of testing. “The more information we can gain the faster we can put it all together,” said Taylor.

The Jerez race is a landmark of the calendar, marking the start of the gruelling European season after the two opening “fly-aways” in Japan and South Africa.

Huge crowds of well over 100,000 avid fans, starved over the winter of the on-track action they crave, will throng to the Andalucian circuit, to make Jerez the capital city of bike racing for what is traditionally a spectacular weekend. This is the first of three races in Spain, with the Catalunyan and Valencia rounds to follow, as well as fourth Iberian race in Portugal.

The next round in the 16-race calendar is the French GP, in two weeks.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr.: WORK GOES ON

I’m not really looking forward to this race. The level of our bike at the moment means I can’t race up front, and that’s frustrating when I know what we are capable of doing. Work goes on ….

JOHN HOPKINS: A FUN TRACK TO LEARN ON

Jerez is a fun track, and I enjoyed it a lot last year when I raced there for the first time. This year that kind of thing is easier for me … I’m going back to tracks rather than learning new ones. I’ll do the best I can, and hope we can continue getting the bike better every time we go out.

ABOUT THIS RACE

Jerez celebrates its 17th year as a GP venue, but only its 16th as host to the Spanish GP. The exception was in 1988, when the race was intended to be the Portuguese GP, renamed the Expo 92 GP at the last minute. By then the event was already becoming well-established as an important start to the European season, attracting huge crowds to the venue outside the capital of Spain’s sherry district, between Cadiz and Seville. The crowds kept on growing over the years, as did the race’s importance, in line with Spain’s growing love affair with GP racing. Now it is the first of four events on the Iberian peninsula, where motorcycle GP racing is second in popularity only to soccer. The Spanish GP also coincides with a number of springtime Fieras in the region, making it an early holiday race for crowds, who can expect sunny if not necessarily always hot weather.

ABOUT THIS TRACK

The circuit at Jerez de la Frontera began a major upgrade last year, with the track fully resurfaced, and pit and paddock buildings extensively rebuilt to bring the showpiece of Spanish racing up to the standards of newer tracks at Barcelona and Valencia. The track was originally commissioned by the municipality of Jerez in the late Eighties with a twisting lap making good use of the surrounding hillsides to provide natural grandstands giving extensive views. The first layout was not universally popular with riders, but the track was lengthened slightly in 1992, replacing one slow section with faster curves. The result was exemplary, much improving the track with a minimum of disruption. Since that time the venue has grown in stature and popularity to become one of Europe’s premier motor sport events, drawing weekend crowds in excess of 200,000.

With a lap of 2.748 miles (4.423km) and a lap record speed of 95mph (153km/h), Jerez is still a fairly slow circuit, but with enough faster corners to make it interesting. A quirk is extreme sensitivity to temperature, with grip levels changing morning to afternoon.

GP DATA

Jerez de la Frontera

Circuit Length: 2.748 miles / 4.423 km)

Lap Record: 1:42.920 – 96.132 mph / 154.710 km/h. Valentino Rossi, 2002

2002 Race Winner: V Rossi (Honda)

2002 Race Average: 46.51.843 – 95.004 mph / 152.894 km/h.

2002 Fastest Race Lap: see lap record

2002 Pole Position: V Rossi 1:42.193

2002 Kenny Roberts: Eighth, qualified ninth (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki).

2002 John Hopkins: 13th, qualified 16th (Yamaha)

From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez
May 9/10/11 2003

GIBERNAU HEADS HOME ON A MISSION

Fresh from the most emotionally-charged win in MotoGP history two weeks ago in South Africa, Spanish star Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) returns to Spain just seven points behind title leader Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V). Rossi placed second at Welkom with Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) third.

Last year Gibernau managed a tenth place riding a Suzuki but this year his expectations have stepped up a gear now he’s equipped with a V5 four-stroke Honda RC211V. His early season form has been impressive with a fourth at round one in Japan and a win from pole position in South Africa.

Many riders believe the World Championship begins for real in Spain at Jerez with round three. The first two races sometimes produce atypical results on account of the mass of specialist ‘wild card’ riders at Suzuka in Jaopan and the alien nature of Welkom in South Africa which is ridden only once a year by the MotoGP teams who don’t test there at all.

But no matter what the results of the early races, the atmosphere at Jerez when the bikes hit the grid on raceday is seldom matched anywhere in the world for sheer volume and raw energy. Up to 200,000 people will throng the Andalucian venue which is a natural amphitheatre for the high drama of this year’s 16-round MotoGP series.

Built in 1986, Jerez hosted its first Grand Prix the following year and has remained on the World Championship calendar ever since. The track is a true measure of rider talent as much as a test of machine performance. Most of the 4.423km track’s corners flow into each other requiring a neat, flowing style from the riders and a solid all-round performance from the motorcycle.

Jerez is a track with a little bit of everything – short, medium and long turns, uphill braking, and downhill braking. The Spanish track is used by many teams for MotoGP testing precisely because of the all-round demands it makes on machine set-up. And it puts a premium on front tyre grip.

“The front end is very important at Jerez,” said Sete Gibernau. “You need to have good feel. The two most important sections of the track are the last two fast rights. You can always feel when you get them right because the revs are really high and you may touch the limiter before the final hairpin. If you do that, and the rest of the lap was good, you know it’s going to be a fast lap.”

The thirty-year-old is in a great early season position to get a real grip at the top of the table and he will draw huge support from a crowd that will back him to the hilt. If the season ‘proper’ begins here, Jerez could also signal a ‘proper’ title challenge from the experienced Gibernau.

Current World MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi has enjoyed his fair share of success at Jerez. He won the 125cc Grand Prix there in 1997, the 250cc race in 1999 and MotoGP races in 2001 and again last year. He also holds the lap record at 1:42.920/153.429kmh. And the World Champion is happier the focus is back on Europe.

“It will be good to get back to Europe,” he said. “I like Jerez for obvious reasons because I’ve had so much success there, but it’s a fantastic track for riders and with the amazing atmosphere and the big crowd it can be a very special place. And we can all stop living out of suitcases for a while now too.”

The Camel Pramac Pons boys are eager to get into action. Max Biaggi will be locking horns with his great rival Rossi on equal machinery for the first time in Europe. “I so much wanted to ride for Honda this year,” said the former Yamaha teamster who is now the all-time leading points scorer in Grand Prix racing. “Now I can race instead of having to develop a bike.”

Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V), slightly deflated after a sixth at the last round at Welkom, is ready to take the fight to his rivals. “I’m all set for more racing,” he said. “I tested here in winter, and it rained all the time, so we didn’t learn that much. But we’ve got plenty of set-up options anyway. As always I’ll give it my best and who knows – it might even rain.”

Nicky Hayden (Respsol Honda RC211V) is good to go after two steady rides in his rookie year. “I seem to remember going to Jerez way back when Wayne Rainey invited me and my brother Tommy to an invitation race here. I’ve tested here too – but it rained all the time. But I expect it to be a whole lot of fun and I’m just going to keep riding that learning curve.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC 211V) is ready for his first taste of Jerez too. “We gained a lot of really useful information at Welkom and we’re making good progress with the Bridgestone tyres,” he said. “Jerez will be new for me, although the team will have useful data from the track last year. The RC211V will be a new experience round here and you can be sure we’ll do our best to make the most of it.”

In the 250cc class Honda riders will use Jerez as a springboard for their Championship challenge. Their top riders are eagerly awaiting significant new engine parts to improve the RS250RW further, knowing the machine’s precise, benign handling will come into its own at this demanding track.

Sebastian Porto (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) can’t wait to get going. “This race is really important,” he said. “We’re doing all we can at the moment but we’ll really need some extra speed from those new parts. We’re still right there in the Championship points table but we need to start winning now in Europe. And there’s no better place to start than Jerez, I love the place.”

The same went for Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) who lies behind third-placed Porto in the overall standings. “Yes, we’ve got work to do,” he said. “But we know what we need – more acceleration out of the turns. But I like Jerez and if the engine parts work and we get the usual gearbox and suspension settings right, then we can really do something here.”

In the 125cc category, which is so close to Spain’s sporting heart, Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS125R) heads for his home Grand Prix at the top of the points table after his Welkom win. And he knows the crowd is worth at least a few tenths of a second per lap. “It’s good to be going there off the back of a win,” said the 18-year-old. “We’re ready for another win and I’ll do my best to deliver.”

Mika Kallio (Ajo Motorsports Honda RS125R) can’t wait. “I like Jerez and I’ve have raced there three times already,” said the Finn. “The corners flow together nicely for me and I love the fast right hand corner behind the paddock. When you get it right I can go through there on full throttle. I got fifth here last year, my best GP result yet. I hope I can do better than that this year, but it’s vital I get a good start!”

His vastly experienced team-mate Masao Azuma is all-set too. “Jerez is a track I have won at twice, even though I prefer fast tracks,” he said. “If the chassis and suspension settings are good for the race we will be OK. The Jerez track itself? I like the faster corners at Jerez, but everything has to be perfect for a really fast lap at this circuit.”