Dani Pedrosa finished second to Stoner in Aragon, his third runner-up finish in a row, which doesn't sit well with the ambitious Spaniard. Pedrosa doesn't have a win at Motegi in MotoGP, but he did win both the 250cc and 125cc races during his championship seasons. Pedrosa makes his return to Japan a year after suffering a broken collarbone through no fault of his own. The injury kept him out of three races. Still, he finished second in the championship.
"We go to Japan focused on returning to the podium; this has to be our target," Pedrosa said.
"We will arrive at the Japanese GP this year in the same position we were last year - straight from a crash and zero points, but I'm determined to transform this disappointment with extra motivation. Last season we had a great race and we almost won, so I'm confident to repeat a great performance at Motegi, a circuit that I like and where I have been on the podium in all the three classes.
"Moreover, this is Honda's home GP and it's very important to score a good result here. Regarding the characteristics of the track, the Twin Ring Motegi has a lot of acceleration zones so it suits the RC212V well, allowing us to use all the strong points of our machine. Concerning the championship, we are third in the world standings and we aim to strengthen our position, recovering some points on Lorenzo and maintaining the gap to Dani."
The 2010 Japanese GP was one of the best rides of the season for Andrea Dovizioso. Dovizioso's consistency this season has put him third to Stoner and Lorenzo, which would be a career best season-ending finish in the premier class. His biggest competition will come from team-mate Pedrosa, who was able to take advantage of Dovi's crash in Aragon to take 20 points out of his lead. Dovizioso finished last year strongly ‰ÛÒ he was on the podium in three of the last five races ‰ÛÒ and will need that strength to maintain his championship position.
"Motegi is one of my favourite circuits not only for the layout, but also for the atmosphere," Dovizioso said. "I always ride well there and feel a lot of support from the Japanese fans and I think this year will be even more special for them. Obviously, last year I had a hard time there due to my injury, but I want to focus on my riding and enjoy the GP. I go there with the same approach as the last races; trying to do our best in all the sessions. We've been at a good level, with three second places in a row, and I am looking forward to this race. I have won at this track in 125 and 250, but not yet in MotoGP, so that's a big motivation for me. I enjoy racing in Motegi and together with my team we will do our best to perform well."
Motegi has the distinction of being the only race to be postponed two years in a row by natural disasters. Last year's race was postponed by the volcanic eruption in Iceland that disrupted travel from Europe. The eruption moved Japan to October when it was the first of three flyaways, as it is this year. After Motegi comes a weekend off, followed by the Australian and Malaysian GPs before the championship concludes in Valencia, Spain.
Main Photo: Casey Stoner
