MotoGP is heading to the marvelous venue of Phillip Island this weekend where Casey Stoner could wrap up the 2011 championship on his home turf and also celebrate his 26th birthday all on the same day, if he wins the race (he’s done so for the past four years) and if title rival Jorge Lorenzo doesn’t get a podium finish.
The Australian GP will aso see the return of Loris Capirossi returning after his shoulder injury he picked up at Aragon and after missing the Motegi round and it will be his last race in Down Under.
Damian Cudlin will get another shot on a Ducati after the Japanese GP with Pramac Ducati, but this time he’ll be subbing for injured Mapfre Aspar rider Hector Barbera who underwent collarbone surgery after his highspeed crash at Motegi.
Karel Abraham should be back in form after deciding to withdraw just ahead of the Motegi race due to concentration problems following his crash at AragonNicky Hayden will not doubt be beseiged by the press who will want to pry out some info on his recent test at Jerez on the Ducati GP12.
Team mate Valentino Rossi will be showing off his swollen hand and injured pinky finger as he tries for the umpteenth time to get his GP11.
2 to work.
Honda will try to wrap up the constructors title and needs just a third place finish for their Honda RC212V.
while we should hear at least some news regarding Suzuki’s plans for 2012 and if Alvaro Bautista is going to decided on LCR Honda or Pramac Ducati.
Casey Stoner – 1st“Every year I look forward to going to Phillip Island, there are a few tracks I really enjoy, Mugello and Brno being the other tracks so I’m excited to get to there and see how the bike works.
I love coming back home to race in Australia, it’s always a lot of fun and we don’t get to visit so often, as well as the track, the general atmosphere is incredible and I always enjoy the weekend as a whole and the fans are fantastic.
Hopefully this weekend we can have a good race, I’m very disappointed after Japan as we knew our potential, I want to go there and win the race, like I wanted to in Japan.
The season has been fantastic so far and we’ll be looking to continue this momentum.
If we can top it off with a win in Phillip Island, my home Grand Prix it would be a dream.
It will be a long hard weekend, and there is still a lot of work to do to win the Championship, but we’re ready for it”.
Jorge Lorenzo – 2nd“I am now heading to Australia after a few days of training in Indonesia.
I’m looking forward to riding at the Phillip Island circuit, it’s one of my favourites and probably the most beautiful track we race on.
After the race in Japan, where we had a positive result, we are really determined to be on the podium again.
We know it’s not going to be easy because Casey is usually invincible on his home track, but I will try my best and won’t give up!”Andrea Dovizioso – 3rd“Phillip Island is a nice circuit set in a unique location.
Last year the race was not as we expected as I had a technical problem that prevented me to fight for the podium.
My target this time is to return on the podium and gain some points in order to retain the third position in the Championship.
Phillip Island is a demanding track and in the past I have struggled quiet a lot.
The real issue is with the weather, the strong winds, rain and cold temperatures have often complicated the race.
From a technical point of view the Australian track requires an aggressive riding style and an ability to make the bike turn whilst sliding.
This is a very spectacular place, the setting by the ocean makes it special and the many fans are truly passionate.
After the race weekend we had in Japan I’m looking forward to the Australian GP.
Since my debut in the GPs in 2002 I have raced with Honda my who le career, for next year i have decided to take another challenge.
But this is for 2012, now I’m focused on these last three remaining GPs.
I want to have some spectacular races and score good results for Honda, my team and all my fans”.
Dani Pedrosa – 4th“I’m looking forward to going to Phillip Island as the circuit is very nice with many fast corners and a lot of sliding.
The tyres play an important role there as the left side of the tyre gets used a lot and therefore durability is always crucial.
Last year I tried to return to racing in Australia after my collarbone operation and I realised during practice that It would be impossible for me to finish the race.
It was very hard for me to accept that I was not ready to race as a result of the injury and I had to return home empty handed after a big effort.
This year I would like to race in normal conditions and leave Australia with a good result”.
Ben Spies – 5th“Phillip Island is such a great circuit to ride; I’ve got great memories there from my time in World Superbike and also last year where we had a really good race.
We had yet another unlucky break in Japan but still managed to deliver a good ride, so we’ll take the positives from that and give it 100% this weekend and see what we can do.
I’ve been relaxing here in Australia for a few days, so I’m fully fit, refreshed and ready for it!”Valentino Rossi – 6th“At Motegi, despite the outcome of the race and what the consequences of the crash turned out to be, there were a number of positive aspects.
We worked well on the bike’s balance and setup, and in the end, from that point of view, we had one of the most positive weekends of the season.
Phillip Island is another track where the Ducati has always gone well, as have I, so we hope to be able to work as well as we did in Japan.
As far as my hand is concerned, the swelling is reduced, and we still have a couple of days before we go on the track.
We just have to wait for Friday morning to see how it reacts.
Nicky Hayden – 7th“Phillip Island is definitely one of the highlights of the year, because everything about it is special.
It’s fast, flowing and really fun to ride.
The big question mark is always the weather.
We can get rain, wind, cold and sun, all in the course of one race weekend.
Casey has won a lot of races there for Ducati, and I should have been on the podium there last year, except that I left the door open for Vale to beat me.
It’s a good track for me, and although I know it won’t be easy, I really hope we can do well.
I’ve got Simoncelli coming for me in the points, but I’m not really thinking about that.
I’d just like to try to get a good result on Sunday, when it counts.
”Marco Simoncelli – 8th“After a bittersweet Grand Prix at Motegi, I had the opportunity to test the RC213V, the bike I will be riding in Team San Carlo Honda Gresini colours next year.
It was an amazing experience – 50 laps of pure adrenaline.
The bike is so much fun and it keeps pulling in fifth and sixth gear.
I gave some feedback to the HRC engineers that will hopefully be taken into consideration before the next test at Valencia.
Before travelling down to Phillip Island I have had a short break in the Philippines, which gave me the opportunity to relax.
Now I am feeling motivated and ready to fight again at Phillip Island.
At Motegi I was able to see once again, that I can fight with the guys at the front and at a circuit where I won 250cc races in 2008 and 2009, I want to show it again.
I was lacking some race consistency but we have addressed that and if it wasn’t for the jump start at Motegi I would have been fighting for the podium, so that is something I want to make up for at Phillip Island.
”Hiroshi Aoyama – 10th”I really wanted to score a positive result at my home Grand Prix but I didn’t manage it.
We had some grip problems that prevented me from being consistent in the race, which was a real shame in front of my home fans.
Now we go to Phillip Island, a circuit I love as long as the weather isn’t too cold.
If the conditions are good I enjoy riding there and I particularly like the atmosphere in Australia.
I am desperate to have a full Grand Prix weekend where I show my true potential and hopefully along with the team, we can create the right conditions to achieve it.
We only have three races left so that is all the motivation we need.
”Álvaro Bautista – 12th“I was very disappointed and upset at the end of the race in Japan, because we deserved to hold onto that result after all the hard work everyone has put in.
We have to take all the positives from that weekend, and the previous races, and keep working in that same frame of mind in Australia.
I know this will be a completely different challenge, but the bike is now working well in all conditions and this weekend will show us how far we have come this season.
I missed out on a top-10 finish at Phillip Island by less than a hundredth-of-a-second last year and I’m sure we can certainly go much better than that this weekend.
You never know what the weather will do at Phillip Island, but we’re ready no matter what happens!”