Aragón racing numbers

Some stats and facts as Round 13, the Gran Premio A-Style de Aragón, approaches.

59 – With Dani Pedrosa’s victory at the Misano, Honda and Yamaha have taken exactly the same number of the victories during the four-stroke MotoGP era; each manufacturer has had 59 MotoGP wins.

34 years – On race day at the Aragón it will be exactly 34 years since the Montjuïc Park circuit in Barcelona was last used for a Grand Prix event.

12 – Both Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo have had 12 MotoGP victories. One more victory for either rider will give them the same number of premier class wins as Randy Mamola and Max Biaggi, who are the two riders with most premier class wins without winning the world title.

12 – At Misano, Jorge Lorenzo became only the fourth rider of all-time to finish on the podium at the opening 12 GP races of the year in the premier class; the other riders to have done this are Wayne Rainey, Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi.

8 – The victory by Marc Márquez at Misano was the eighth victory of the year in the 125cc class by Derbi riders. If one of the Derbi riders takes the race win at Aragón then it will equal the highest number of wins achieved in a single season (1988) by Derbi in the 125cc class.

3 – The last three MotoGP races held in Spain have been won by Spanish riders; Dani Pedrosa at the final race of last year at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, and Jorge Lorenzo at Jerez and Catalunya this year.

2 – Just two riders have scored points at every event so far in 2010 across all three Grand Prix classes: Jorge Lorenzo in MotoGP and Toni Elías in Moto2.

Top three target again for Rossi

The World Champion says his physical condition is constantly improving and he is aiming for another podium finish at the Aragón this weekend.

Valentino Rossi continued to impress in his ongoing return to full fitness with a podium finish at the Misano, and the reigning World Champion has set his sights on a repeat of that result at this weekend’s Gran Premio A-Style de Aragón.

In his five races since returning from a lay-off due to a broken leg Rossi has not finished outside the top five, including podiums at the Laguna Seca and in his home GP last time out. Now the World Championship visits a new circuit but having ridden there in preparation for Round 13 Rossi is confident of being able to challenge at the top end of the race once more.

"Last week I rode an R1 at the track and I really like it. It's quite complicated but it's a lot of fun and it's fast, so I think it will be a real test. I think the best bit is the entry to turn 16 and I am looking forward to riding my M1 there,” said the 31 year-old. “I am feeling stronger and fitter every day so I will be aiming for the podium again this time."

The Italian added: “Misano was a very sad weekend for our sport but now we're looking forward to a new race and we are hoping for a good weekend for everyone in memory of the Tomizawa.”

Rossi has reason to be assured in his approach as he is the most successful rider at GP events held in the Spain, having won a total of 19 races across all classes there. Currently fourth in the standings and level on 130 points with Casey Stoner, Rossi will also be aiming for a first front-row start since his return to action.

Pedrosa excited at Aragón challenge

A new circuit and the continued chase of the Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo have the Repsol Honda rider in a highly motivated mood ahead of the weekend.

Dani Pedrosa is a focused man ahead of this weekend’s Gran Premio A-Style de Aragón where he will be going for a fifth win of the 2010 season. So far the Repsol Honda rider has already doubled his best-ever win tally in a season with his four wins to date, and with victory last time out at the Misano took his first back-to-back premier class successes.

At 63 points off Championship leader and rival Jorge Lorenzo the task that faces him may appear daunting at first sight, but the fact that Pedrosa has recouped 14 points in the last two rounds and still has 150 to ride for in the remaining six races paints a far more open picture.

This weekend will see the 24 year-old face off against Lorenzo on home soil as the World Championship makes its first ever visit to the new Motorland Aragón circuit, a track that Pedrosa scoped out back in July in a private test.

“I’m looking forward to arriving at the Motorland Aragón and trying the new track on the RC212V,” he said. “I did some laps in July with a Honda CBR1000RR street bike and I really enjoyed the layout – I loved the circuit. It’s very different to the ones we are used to racing at in the MotoGP Championship, and so it will be really interesting this weekend. The circuit combines fast and slow corners which are quite technical, and the last straight and finish line section is going to be amazing. There are also some blind turns where you need to look for the references outside the track. The facilities are very high spec and it looks like the fans are in for a treat at this race.”

Pedrosa has finished second to Lorenzo in both the Spanish rounds so far this year at Jerez and Catalunya, and arrives at Aragón with a renewed confidence following his recent dominant run of form.

“It’s always very nice to race in Spain and I can imagine that the atmosphere will be incredible; I’m looking forward to meeting the Spanish fans again,” he said. “The team and I also arrive in a very good mood thanks to the great job we have been doing and our good results in the last races. It will be a challenge for everybody this weekend and we need to make the most of the practice sessions – in this area we have improved a lot in the second part of the season. Our bike has been working well at very different circuits, so I hope we can also do a good job in Aragón. I’m really looking forward to this Grand Prix.”

It is not just Pedrosa and Lorenzo who are competing closely having both now taken 12 premier class victories in their careers. After the former’s win at Misano Honda and Yamaha have taken exactly the same number of MotoGP victories during the four-stroke era at 59 each.