After an exciting race in Germany that saw Dani Pedrosa’s second win of the season, Casey Stoner’s eighth podium from nine races and another strong display from Andrea Dovizioso, the Repsol Honda Team heads immediately to America for the tenth round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship. The U.S Grand Prix will bring to an end the busiest period of the season with six races held in the last eight weeks, and will demand the rider’s last efforts before the summer break.
The Laguna Seca circuit has been a good destination for the Repsol Honda Team since the Californian track regained its position on the MotoGP calendar in 2006, after a ten year absence.
Casey Stoner and Laguna Seca make a good combination. The Australian has achieved two pole positions, one victory and three podiums in five outings and retains the best lap record in Laguna (1’20.700 thanks to his pole in 2008) and the circuit record from last year (1’21.376).
Dani Pedrosa’s debut in Laguna Seca was also impressive. The Spaniard was second in 2006, on his first visit to this demanding track, and took the victory in 2009 becoming the first Spanish rider in history to win in Laguna.
Andrea Dovizioso will be aiming to step up and fight for a podium that he has narrowly missed twice, in 2010 and 2008, finishing fourth on both occasions.
CASEY STONER – World Championship Position: 1st with 168 points
“I’m looking forward to going to Laguna Seca, it’s a circuit I’ve always enjoyed quite good results at and we’ve always been naturally quite fast there. The track itself is a very tight and technical track, there are lots of sweeping gradients and unusual corners with a lot of camber, so you need to be delicate on the track and not ‘attack’ it too much. We’ll be looking to improve our results from the past three weekends, three podiums are great but I’m here to win races, so we’ll be aiming to get back on the top step next Sunday in Laguna. It’s been a pretty tiring few weeks and we have another back to back race now, but I love going to America and the area of Monterey is truly beautiful, the fans are always very welcoming and the atmosphere there is fantastic”.
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – World Championship Position: 3rd with 132 points
“I really look forward to racing in Laguna Seca. I have always had a good feeling with this track and I like the whole ambience there. We arrive very motivated and it’s good that we race straight after Sachsenring. I’m satisfied of the improvement we have done in the last GP in terms of consistency and race pace and I’m confident that in Laguna we can return competitive to fight for the podium and hopefully for the win. Our target is to gain important points for the Championship, reducing the gap to Lorenzo and Casey. I like Laguna Seca very much, it’s a very different to the European circuits and I find it special, as are the fans and it’s always a pleasure to race in California”.
DANI PEDROSA – World championship position: 5th with 94 points
“It was nice to stop, even for if only for couple of days at home to enjoy the victory in Germany with my family and friends, who also deserved to celebrate. The United States Grand Prix will be another challenge for me. I know that I will suffer more in Laguna Seca because there are many hard braking areas and very fast direction changes. Anyway, it will be another race and I’ll try to prepare well and enjoy it as I did in Sachsenring. The track is very different to the European circuits and the atmosphere there is special. With the exception of last year, when I crashed, and in 2008 when I couldn’t race due to injury, I’ve always had fun racing in Laguna and the victory in 2009 was very exciting. In the second half of the season I want to enjoy the bike and gain the best results possible and would like to close the first part of the season with a good feeling”.
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