This weekend the MotoGP teams face the United States Grand Prix, which will be their sixth race in eight weeks, and then they’ll enjoy a well-earned short summer break.
It’s a very special event for Nicky Hayden, being his first of two home-country races and a track where he has won twice, and for Valentino Rossi, who has one win and three podiums. Both riders are very popular with the American fans, and the riders themselves love both the relaxed atmosphere and the California track itself, which is famous for its signature Corkscrew section.
At Laguna, Valentino will also be reunited with his crew chief Jeremy Burgess, who has missed the last two races.
From a technical point of view, the Ducati Team’s development work will continue at the American track and both riders will have both the GP11 and the GP11.1 at their disposition. Rossi and Hayden, along with the Ducati technicians, are determined to do everything they can to speed up the development of the Desmosedici, and they are considering a possible back-to-back comparison of the bike’s two versions on the first day of free practice.
VALENTINO ROSSI, Ducati Team
“I think that we’ll try to use both versions of the Desmosedici on Friday so that we can compare them and do some work for both the near term and the future, because we want to learn as much as possible. We’re aware that it could be difficult because we’ll also have to be preparing for the race, but we think that in order to improve our bike, it’s important to try everything possible. For me, Laguna represents a great corner, the Corkscrew, and many nice memories, including one of the best races of my career, in 2008. In any case, it’s always a pleasure to race in the United States because the motorcycle world here is really nice. Of course I’m even happier that Jerry has returned and I look forward to seeing him in the garage again with all the guys.”
NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Team
“Obviously, I’m looking forward to Laguna, because it’s a track I love that’s very challenging and fun, with a great atmosphere and my home crowd. Turn 1 and the Corkscrew are very technical, and pretty much the whole track links together. On a MotoGP bike, there really aren’t any straightaways, because you’re always shifting, turning or braking. It’s important to have a bike that you feel confident on and can be aggressive with. I’m going to my home GP not in our best moment, but we’ll give our best effort like always. It’s nice that my brothers are both in the AMA race, and my sisters are both doing a lap on the two-seater Ducati. I think we’ll make the final decision on Thursday as to which bike I’ll ride, but we’ll probably try the GP11.1 at some stage, and I’ll see what I can do to try and come up with a good result.”
VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
“The Laguna Grand Prix is an important round, and it means a lot to Nicky as his home race where he has won twice. His whole family will be here, and both of his brothers will also race during the weekend. We want to put him in a position to have a nice race, he did a good job at the Sachsenring and is on a positive trend. The GP11.1 will be available to him so that he can compare the two versions of the Desmosedici. Valentino will have the same option, we decided to gather as much information as possible for the development of this bike and to help with the GP12. We’re also happy to have Jeremy with us again, as he’s important for Vale and the whole team.”
LAGUNA SECA CIRCUIT RECORDS
Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2010), 1:21.376 – 159.703 Km/h
Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1:20.700 – 161.040 Km/h
Circuit Length: 3.610 km
MotoGP Race 2011: 32 laps (115.520 km)
MotoGP Schedule 2011: 2:00 p.m. local time
Number of laps: 32
Total race distance: 115.520 km
2010 PODIUM: 1st Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd Casey Stoner, 3rd Valentino Rossi
2010 POLE: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2010) 1:20.978 – 160.488 Km/h
DUCATI TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT LAGUNA SECA
2010: 2nd (Stoner)
2009: 4th (Stoner)
2008: 2nd (Stoner)
2007: 1st (Stoner)
2006: 8th (Capirossi)
2005: 10th (Capirossi)
DUCATI TEAM – RIDER INFO
VALENTINO ROSSI
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP11, GP11.1
Race number: 46
Age: 32 (born in Pesaro 16 February 1979)
Residence: Tavullia (Pesaro, Italy)
GPs: 250 (190 x MotoGP, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
First GP: Malaysian GP, 1996 (125cc)
Number of Wins: 105 (79 x MotoGP, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP win: Czech Republic GP, 1996 (125cc)
Poles: 59 (49 x MotoGP, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First Pole: Czech Republic GP, 1996 (125cc)
World Titles: 9 (6 x MotoGP, 1 x 500cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
Rossi’s MotoGP track record at Laguna Seca
2010: Grid: 6th; Race: 3rd
2009: Grid: 2nd; Race: 2nd
2008: Grid: 2nd; Race: 1st
2007: Grid: 5th; Race: 4th
2006: Grid: 10th; Race: DNF
2005: Grid: 2nd; Race: 3rd
NICKY HAYDEN
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP11, GP11.1
Race number: 69
Age: 29 (born 30 July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA)
Residence: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Number of GPs: 143 (143 x MotoGP)
First GP: Japanese GP, 2003 (MotoGP)
Number of wins: 3 (3 x MotoGP)
First GP win: USA GP, 2005 (MotoGP)
Poles: 5 (5 x MotoGP)
First Pole: USA GP, 2005 (MotoGP)
World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006)
Hayden’s MotoGP track record at Laguna Seca
2010: Grid: 7th; Race: 5th
2009: Grid: 8th; Race: 5th
2008: Grid: 3rd; Race: 5th
2007: Grid: 4th; Race: DNF
2006: Grid: 6th; Race: 1st
2005: Grid: 1st; Race: 1st
