The Ducati Team is headed for Valencia, where the 2011 MotoGP championship will conclude on Sunday. The weekend’s usual track activities will be touched by the memory of Marco Simoncelli, whose absence will surely weigh heavily on the minds of the paddock regulars and fans. On the other hand, Marco was also emblematic of the great joy and love for this sport that we all share.
It is with this spirit that everyone on the Ducati Team will work as they do their best to prepare for this race on the small, twisty Spanish circuit, which will also host a two-day test on 8-9 October.
VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
“The Valencia Grand Prix will have a different atmosphere than normal because we’ve been thinking about Marco since Malaysia. He’ll be with us in Spain and beyond, but I think there will also be positive feelings in the paddock, because for Marco, racing equalled happiness, which is a concept that I understand very well. That being the case, we’ll do what we always have and do our best to provide Vale and Nicky with what they need to have a nice race. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll take part in the test, and we’ll see the new-generation bikes together for the first time.”
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
2010 MotoGP Race: 30 laps (120.15 km)
2010 MotoGP Schedule: 2:00 p.m. Local Time
2010 PODIUM: 1st Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd Casey Stoner, 3rd Valentino Rossi
2010 POLE: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2010), 1:31.799 – 157.060 Km/h
DUCATI TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT VALENCIA
2010: 2nd (Stoner)
2009: 5th (Hayden)
2008: 1st (Stoner)
2007: 2nd (Stoner)
2006: 1st (Bayliss)
2005: 4th (Checa)
2004: 3rd (Bayliss)
2003: 3rd (Capirossi)
DUCATI TEAM – RIDER INFO
VALENTINO ROSSI
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP11.1
Race number: 46
Age: 32 (born in Pesaro 16 February 1979)
Residence: Tavullia (Pesaro, Italy)
GPs: 258 (198 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 Valencia
2010: Grid: 4th; Race: 3rd
2009: Grid: 4th; Race: 2nd
2008: Grid: 10th; Race: 3rd
2007: Grid: 17th; Race: DNF
2006: Grid: 1st; Race: 13th
2005: Grid: 15th; Race: 3rd
2004: Grid: 3rd; Race: 1st
2003: Grid: 1st; Race: 1st
2002: Grid: 6th; Race: 2nd
2001: Grid: 2nd; Race: 11th
2000: Grid: 5th; Race: DNF
Rossi’s 250 track record at Valencia
1999: Grid: 4th; Race: 8th
NICKY HAYDEN
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP11.1
Race number: 69
Age: 30 (born 30 July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA)
Residence: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Number of GPs: 151 (151 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 Valencia
2010: Grid: 5th; Race: DNF
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
