MotoGP – Preview Aragon – Melandri and Simoncelli ready for a new challenge

The final part of the MotoGP World Championship kicks off from the new Aragon circuit, located in the center of the Zaragoza, Barcelona, ​​Tarragona and Valencia quadrilateral with six races in eight weeks. A real "tour de force" that will take the paddock around the world to end with the grand finale in Valencia on November 7th. “Motorland Aragon” is a project born from the enthusiasm of the Alcaniz community and in memory of the legendary urban circuit of the same city. With the aim of continuing this sporting tradition, the idea of ​​building a new motor city was born, a multifunctional complex dedicated to technology, sport and motor culture. Motorland Aragon was built on an area of ​​3.500.000 m2, 5 kilometers from the city of Alcaniz and just over 100 kilometers from the capital of the Autonomous Community of Aragon, Zaragoza. The complex was inaugurated in September 2009 and the circuit designed by the German Herman Tilke with the collaboration of the Formula 1 driver Pedro de la Rosa can be modulated for different motor disciplines. The track has been defined by many drivers as fast, with complex but extremely fun corners. In Aragon, where we will return to the past with a test session also on Friday morning, the riders of Team San Carlo Honda Gresini are looking for a prestigious result which, this season, is still missing and which with great determination they will have to find it in the remaining six races of the year.

Marco Melandri “I have a great desire to redeem and erase the bad weekend in Misano. Everything started in the worst possible way on Thursday when, during the DediKato event together with Capirossi, I tried to liven up the evening but it didn't go as I would have liked and perhaps I was misunderstood. I was very sorry! Then came Sunday's Moto2 race with Tomizawa's terrible accident right in the corner where I had a bad accident in 2007. I was terribly shocked because I had raised some concerns at the time about the synthetic grass being in too much contact with the curb but I wasn't listened to. I will point this out during the Safety Commission on Thursday. “Last but not least” a race of mine to forget during which my lack of feeling with the bike was highlighted once again. In any case, after Moto2, every sporting emotion was removed from me. In Aragon I would like to take advantage of every minute of testing to rediscover the feeling I had found at Silverstone before the crash. I don't expect magic compared to previous races but I will do everything I can to have a good race. ”

Marco Simoncelli “Immediately after the Misano race I was extremely struck by Tomizawa's tragic accident and I was unable to reflect on my result at all. This week I had the opportunity to think about it again and I am sorry for the mistake that compromised the final result. It's a shame because I was going well, I was just behind the top five and had a good lead over Edwards. I could have brought home a good result and up to that point I was satisfied. Then a trivial mistake ruined everything. Sin! I will try to make up for it in Aragon where there will be an extra session of testing and where we will start again from the basic setup of Misano which was better and with which we found a certain confidence. Someone has already done a few laps on this new track and Valentino Rossi told me that the track is very beautiful, with fast corners and fun ups and downs, the opposite of Misano. In short, I should feel comfortable and therefore I am confident that I can have a good race. ”

Fausto Gresini “Aragon will be a new track for everyone and therefore we will discover this track while being able to take advantage of an extra session of testing on Friday morning as in the past. At Misano we achieved little with both riders. Unfortunately, if I have to take stock after two thirds of the season I have to say that the results are certainly not positive and in any case are decidedly lower than the expectations of the day before. Melandri had quite a few difficulties finding the feeling with the RC212V and when, at Silverstone, it seemed that he had found it, he crashed without being able to continue the confidence he had achieved with his bike. Simoncelli on his part had a constant progression, showing off his potential several times but unfortunately he lacked that important and significant high pitch that would have allowed him to make the leap in quality. Both pilots, from Laguna Seca, also encountered some difficulties in managing the new electronics that arrived in the United States. In Aragon the extra test session could help find the right solutions to interpret and exploit the great potential of this new and fundamental technical component. There are six races left until the end of the Championship and together with the drivers we will do our utmost to achieve those results that have eluded us at the moment. ”

Gresini Racing team