DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM BEGIN TRIPLE HEADER IN JAPAN

This weekend's Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi is the first of three consecutive races in three weekends for the MotoGP World Championship, which also takes in races in Malaysia and Australia before returning to Europe for the final two rounds of the 2010 season.
The schedule for the next three rounds will see a return to this season's original format of three sessions of an hour in length although Portugal and Valencia will both feature four sessions of 45 minutes, as was successfully trialled in Aragon.
Following their double podium in the Spanish round both Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden are eager to get back on track and confirm their recent progress, hopeful that the characteristics of the Japanese circuit, where the Ducati Marlboro Team have celebrated three victories and a podium in the past, can be suited to the modified set-ups of their GP10 machines.

CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team 
"Motegi is a circuit with a lot of stop and go sections, not much of it flows together and it's not one of my favourite layouts. On the positive side the surface is smooth, with not too many bumps, which have really made us suffer at a lot of tracks this year. You need a bike that is stable under braking and efficient under acceleration so I am hopeful that the setting we found at Aragon can be useful here again. In Spain we finally managed to improve the stability and found a bit more grip and if we can do that again this weekend we will have the chance to fight for a good result again."

NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team
"As always this Grand Prix has a little extra flavour because it's the home round for the big Japanese factories. I actually scored my first ever MotoGP podium at Motegi but I've not had much out of it since then other than a couple of front row starts and a few results I'd rather not remember. It is the first of three races in a row in three different countries with very different climates. It is not an easy grind but I always enjoy it. We have to try and build on the good form we showed at Aragon and stay at the same level if we can. It won't be easy but that has to be our objective."
 
VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
"We are coming on the back of a good result at Aragon, where both Casey and Nicky were fast all weekend and their bikes worked well. Obviously it would be nice to us to get to Japan and find that the latest modifications are taking us in the right direction, especially because Motegi is a very different kind of circuit to Aragon. Our riders are in good form and the team is ready to tackle the triple-header that starts this Sunday and so all the ingredients are there for us to try and repeat that result. But it's never easy and we know that our job is to stay focused and give maximum effort as always."

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YAMAHA HEAD TO JAPANESE HOMELAND FOR FIRST OF FLYAWAY TREBLE

The Fiat Yamaha Team heads to Yamaha's homeland of Japan this week for the first in a punishing triple-header of ?flyaway' races in Japan, Malaysia and Australia. There are just five more races still left to go and championship-leader Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Valentino Rossi are determined to record a few more top results before the curtain comes down on the year in early November.

Lorenzo took a superb win at Motegi last season, passing his team-mate to take a memorable victory. The 23-year-old loves the track and is looking forward to getting back on the podium this time out, having missed out for the first time this season at the last race in Aragon. The Spaniard leads the championship from 56 points from Dani Pedrosa but, despite the points gap, he knows that he can not afford any mistakes if he is to realise his dream of clinching a first premier class world title.

Nine-time champion Rossi also has happy memories of the Japanese circuit, having won there in 2001 and then again with Yamaha in 2008, when he sewed up his eighth world title. He arrives in less than perfect shape this time however after an injury-hit season, with his damaged shoulder still limiting his power and capacity to ride. He knows that the right-handed Motegi track will be extra hard on his body this weekend but is looking forward to Sepang and Phillip Island, which he hopes will be a little easier, as he looks to finish his difficult season on a high.

Motegi has been a victim of the weather over the last couple of years, with qualifying cancelled in 2009 due to torrential rain and then the ash cloud earlier this year meaning the entire race had to be postponed, hence its delayed appearance in the calendar now. Designed in 1997 as a test venue, Motegi features a somewhat geometric track layout. The surface offers good levels of grip without being overly abrasive but the proliferation of second gear turns, linked for the most part by mini-drag strips, means braking and acceleration are the main prerequisite to a fast lap time.

 Jorge Lorenzo
 
 
"GET BACK ON THE PODIUM"

"Motegi is Yamaha's home and I always feel proud to ride there. Last Year I got my first victory at this track in MotoGP and it was one of the best moments of the season. I like Motegi and I think it can be great for us also this season. The main goal is to get back on the podium and continue getting as many points as possible. We will try to be fast from Friday and start this run of three races as well as we can.
 
 
 Valentino Rossi
 
"WE WILL DO OUR BEST"
"Aragon was a hard weekend, both because we couldn't find the right setting for our M1 and because I had a lot of trouble with my shoulder. The leg is now almost back to normal again - I have even started running - but the shoulder is a problem and we know now that this is not going to change until we have time to treat it properly. I have some great memories from Motegi, especially winning the championship in 2008, but I am expecting this weekend to be quite difficult on my body. We have a hard three weeks ahead but after this race two of my best tracks are coming up, and I am hoping for some good results. We will do our best and see what happens!"
 
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REPSOL HONDA TEAM ARRIVES IN JAPAN WITH HIGH HOPES FOR HOME RACE

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will enjoy plenty of support this weekend as the Twin Ring Motegi hosts the long-awaited 2010 Grand Prix of Japan. With the factory Honda squad arriving in Japan in very competitive form after a series of strong performances, hopes are high that a Honda RC212V will be challenging for victory once again this weekend. This is the event that was postponed from its original date in April this year due to the widespread travel disruption caused by the erupting Icelandic Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

Dani Pedrosa comes to Japan full of confidence having establishing himself as the rider to beat in the second half of the MotoGP season. Since the championship resumed at Brno in August after the short summer break, Pedrosa has substantially outscored his all MotoGP rivals and has steadily chipped away at the early season championship lead built up by Jorge Lorenzo, reducing the gap by 16 points in four race s. Although the deficit of 56 points is still a large one with five races remaining, Pedrosa will be quietly confident that he can continue to apply pressure at a circuit he likes, and which should suit the performance characteristics of the Honda RC212V. Pedrosa turns 25 years old on Wednesday 29th September and the perfect birthday present would be to significantly outscore his Spanish title rival once again this weekend. 
 
In last year's Grand Prix of Japan, which was the second race of the year, Pedrosa came from 11th on the grid to score a remarkable podium finish - made all the more impressive by the fact that he was still recovering from pre-season injuries. Dovizioso also had a strong ride from seventh to a fighting fifth place after he too was handicapped by the cancellation of Saturday qualifying due to heavy rain, an unusual event which meant that grid positions were decided by each rider's fast time from the one dry practice session of the weekend.

In recent races Dovizioso and his RC212V have continued to display the potential and speed that made him a regular podium visitor earlier in the season and, even though recent results haven't gone the way of the Italian, the 24-year-old will be determined quickly to banish the memories of his last-lap fall at Aragon and establish himself as a front-runner once again this weekend. Lying in fifth place in the championship with Valentino Rossi just one point ahead and Casey Stoner a further fifteen points in front, Dovizioso's goals are clear - to overtake those riders once more and re-take the third place in the championship he has held for large parts of the 2010 season.

The impressive Motegi facility was opened in 1998 to celebrate the Honda Motor company's 50th anniversary, and the venue played host to its first World Championship race the following year, when it hosted the Pacific GP. It has been home to the Japanese GP sin ce 2004. The MotoGP timetable returns to normal this weekend after Aragon's adjusted practice sessions, with the track action beginning on Friday with an hour of free practice, followed on Saturday by a further practice session and then qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday's 24-lap Grand Prix of Japan starts at 15.00 local time (GMT + 9 hours).
 
DANI PEDROSA - World Championship Position: 2nd - 228 points 

"We start the most intense period of the season this weekend, with five races in six weeks, and my goal is to make the best possible finish to the championship. I think we're very strong at the moment and we must take full advantage of it. This final stage begins in Japan - the most important race for Honda because it's their home Grand Prix - and I'm looking forward to getting to the circuit and starting the preparations for this special race. I would love to win at Motegi because I've never won here in MotoGP and I've been on the podium for the last two seasons. I always feel very motivated in Japan. I love the circuit and the atmosphere you feel there. The fans are very enthusiastic but also educated, and I feel a lot of support. We couldn't race in Motegi at the beginning of the season due to the problems with the volcanic ash clouds, so I think the fans will be even more excited to welcome us. It will be very important to start this tour of Asia in the best way. As I've said before, I will approach this final section of the season simply thinking race by race. We're doing a good job in the team, the RC212V is working well - we know it better and better - and so this a good chance for us to try to win more races and to finish the year in the best possible way."
 
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO - World Championship Position: 5th - 139 points 

"We have another chance to get a strong result this weekend and I'm very motivated going into this race. It is Honda's home GP and it's really important to do well here for Honda as well as for the team and myself. Last year, qualifying was cancelled because of rain and we didn't have a lot of set-up time, but still I had a good race and my pace was strong, so I'm confident we can fight at the front again. Plus I always look forward to racing in Japan because the atmosphere is so different and special here. The layout of the Twin Ring Motegi, with its many areas of hard acceleration from low speed, is good for us and should allow us to use all the power and strong points of the RC212V. We are determined to get a good result here because we've been close for several races now without coming through on our potential. Our target remains third position i n the championship, so a podium finish in Motegi is really important for me. It's what we're aiming for and I'm looking forward to the challenge at Honda's home GP."