The Grand Prix of Valencia provides the traditional curtain call to the MotoGP World Championship and it promises to be a special weekend for the Ducati Marlboro Team as they pay a fond farewell to Casey Stoner. Four fantastic years together with the Australian rider brought Ducati its first ever MotoGP title in 2007 and with one race still remaining a total of 23 victories, 41 podiums and 20 pole positions.
Valencia has traditionally been a favourable track for the Ducati Marlboro Team, who scored a memorable one-two in 2006 and have had top five finishes there every year since. Casey Stoner took the first win of his Grand Prix career at Valencia back in 2003 in the 125cc race and he has a second place and a victory, in 2007 and 2008 respectively, to his name in MotoGP. Nicky Hayden also has podiums there, having finished second in 2005 and third in 2006.
After a weekend of challenging weather in Portugal the team and riders are hoping for better conditions in Spain as they look to finish off the season in positive fashion.
CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team
“After the awful weather we had to put up with in Portugal I hope that Valencia is a bit better and we get chance to work well and get a good set-up for my final race on the Ducati. I have always liked the circuit and I had my first ever win here in 125cc. It is a tight but flowing circuit and even though there are a lot of second and third gear corners they are banked and you can let the bike run, keeping some good speed up. This also helps you to find a gearbox setting quite quickly because apart from the straight, obviously, you only really need two gears. In the past we have always been able to find a good set-up so I we are confident. I really want to have a good race this weekend.”
NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team
“Time has flown past since Portugal. I went to Italy do some wind tunnel tests at Ducati and then we were back on the road to Spain. It has done me good to have a couple of days rest though because the crash on Friday left me with a knock on my back and it has been a bit painful. I’m okay now though and I can’t wait to get back out at Valencia, a circuit I love and a place that will always be special to me because I won the title here. Also the fact it’s the last race of the season, with so many people there packing out the grandstands… it just gives the whole event that little bit extra. I have been on the podium here twice in the past so we’ll try and do it again this Sunday.”
VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
“I really hope that at Valencia we get the conditions that allow everybody to work properly in all four sessions so that we can give Casey a bike and a setting that can give him the best possible chance to end our fantastic time together in positive fashion on Sunday. Our bike tends to work really well at this circuit and on Friday we’ll be starting out with a setting that we know has worked well for us and been competitive in the last few races. Both Casey and Nicky love the track and have had some great results there in the past so I think there’s a chance they could both be on the podium.”
THE TRACK
The Valencia circuit, named after Spanish rider Ricardo Tormo, has been a fixture on the World Championship calendar since 2002, having been used for the first time in 1999. Measuring 4.005km, it is an unusual circuit, built within a stadium style complex that makes it possible to see virtually any part of the circuit from any seat in the house. Whilst on the one hand this makes it a great venue for the fans, the track layout is constantly forced back on itself, making for a series of tight corners separated by short straights that require plenty of low revs, short gear ratios and provide little opportunity to fully open the throttle. In fact, the short back straight and slightly longer front straight are the only two high-speed points on the circuit. Unlike most circuits, it also runs anti-clockwise.
VALENCIA CIRCUIT RECORDS
Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’32.582 – 155.732 Km/h
Best Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2006), 1’31.002 – 158.436 Km/h
Circuit Length: 4.005 km
MotoGP Race 2010: 30 laps (120.15 km)
MotoGP Schedule 2010: 14:00 Local Time
Number of laps: 30
Total race distance: 120.150km
PODIUM 2009: 1st Dani Pedrosa, 2nd Valentino Rossi, 3rd Jorge Lorenzo
POLE 2009: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2009), 1’32.256 – 156.282 Km/h
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT VALENCIA
2009: 5th (Hayden)
2008: 1st (Stoner)
2007: 2nd (Stoner)
2006: 1st (Bayliss)
2005: 4th (Checa)
2004: 3rd (Bayliss)
2003: 3rd (Capirossi)
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM – RIDER INFO
CASEY STONER
Age: 25 (born 16th October 1985 in Southport, Queensland, Australia )
Residency: Switzerland
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP10
Number: 27
GP Appearances: 143 (82xMotoGP, 31×250, 30×125)
GP victories: 30 (23xMotoGP, 5×250, 2×125)
First GP win: Valencia, 2003 (125)
GP debut: Great Britain, 2001 (125)
Pole positions: 25 (21xMotoGP, 2×250, 2×125)
First pole position: Italy, 2003 (125)
World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2007)
Stoner’s MotoGP track record at Valencia:
2009: Grid:1st. Race: DNS
2008: Grid: 1st. Race: 1st
2007: Grid: 2nd. Race: 2nd
2006: Grid: 7th. Race: DNF
NICKY HAYDEN
Age: 29 (born 30th July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA)
Residency: Owensboro, USA
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP10
Number: 69
GP Appearances: 133 (133xMotoGP)
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP wins: 3 (3xMotoGP)
First GP win: USA, 2005 (MotoGP)
Pole positions: 5 (5xMotoGP)
First pole: USA, 2005 (MotoGP)
World titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006)
Hayden’s MotoGP track record at Valencia
2009: Grid: 6th. Race:5th
2008: Grid: 3rd. Race: 5th
2007: Grid: 3rd. Race: 8th
2006: Grid: 5th. Race: 3rd
2005: Grid: 3rd. Race: 2nd
2004: Grid: 5th. Race: DNF
2003: Grid: 4th. Race: 16th
