This weekends sees the MotoGP World Championship travel to Aragón for Round 14 of the 2011 season, but one rider already has one eye on the next race – the Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi which takes place on October 2nd.

Much has been said and written about the Japanese GP but Hiroshi Aoyama has little doubt about his desire to ride in his home race, and in an interview with Honda Motor Sports the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider discussed the impact of events in Japan on his personal life, as well as his progress this season…

Where you when the earthquake struck?

“When the earthquake happened I was just going to the Qatar race, so I was just in the airport. I saw the TV. I thought it's a kind of movie. I could not believe what was happening there. I realised that it was happening in Japan and I tried to call my family, but, at that moment, I could not call. So I took my flight to Qatar. When I arrived in Qatar I called my family so I could reach them. It was okay. We live like 200 kilometres from Fukushima in Chiba. Also we have two kilometres to a fuel factory, where there was an explosion because of the earthquake. So they had also some damage from this. But anyway, the family was okay, my friends were okay, so I was quite distressed and had a strange feeling, because I had the first race in Qatar, I had to focus. I felt I should not race because I did not feel nice. But then I thought that I should race to give some good news to Japan, bring some news, so that's what I could do. I am not a professional who is able to rescue people, I'm a professional who rides the bike. So that's what I thought and I continued racing, but it's still hard because there are a lot of people still suffering, losing their houses, losing their families and that's a lot of damage into your heart and mind, so it takes time.”

When you were in Qatar, how were you keeping up with developments in Japan?

“I was trying to check the TV, but there was a lot of news around and it's difficult to get what is the latest news. But I could also check the internet. The internet was where I could get good information. The telephone was down the first few hours or few weeks, because they had no electricity, but somehow the internet was working, so I could contact my friends, my family. I could get what really happened to my town. They showed mainly the nuclear plant and other things. They didn’t show my town much.”

How is your town now?

“Not okay. I mean, we didn't have too much damage, but the first couple of weeks my family didn't have water, didn't have food. No fuel, nothing. The lifeline was down, so I think even for my family it was a little bit tough during those couple of weeks. I was there in Japan one month ago and I could see everything is okay, everything is fine. They have electricity, water, food, fuel. Everything was going on like normal, so I was really happy to see that. But on the other hand if you go to the northern part of Japan it's still a disaster. I saw some pictures. The cars are still upside down, houses completely ruined. Some places you cannot see anything, no houses, nothing. The tsunami took everything. I could see how the tsunami is powerful. I think not only me but a lot of Japanese riders had difficultly in concentrating on the race, thinking about focusing. It was not easy. Even now when I think about it deeply, it's still really hard.”

How long do you think it will be before Japan fully recovers?

“Oh, it takes a couple of years, maybe ten. I don't know. For sure a lot of time. Even if you can fix things like houses and roads, the people are still heartbroken, so this is the hardest part. We were lucky because many countries tried to help bring many things, bring some money. We were a very lucky country and I would like to say thanks to all the people who supported the Japanese people in Japan. What I can do now is still try to race and try to give my best in the race and deliver good news, and cheer up the people who are still suffering inside. And so because of this, I would say let's go to Japan to have a MotoGP race. The independent company (ARPA) checked the situation of Japan, so they said it's okay, we can go. So now the race is going on. I'm very happy about that. But still some people are doubting or thinking. I fully understand the situation, but if they would go to Japan to race, I would be very happy and I appreciate all the guys who will go to Japan.”

There was a meeting at Mugello at which all of the MotoGP riders, except you, signed a document asking for more information.

“Yeah, yeah, I didn't sign that, because I know everything is okay and we can go. And Japanese government said it's okay. And afterward also Italy, Spain, America, they say you can travel to Japan. So that means it's okay. I trust this, so I didn't sign this document. It's a difficult situation for European people. I am Japanese, so anyway, I have a house there so I go home, even in a disaster situation. It's a completely different situation. And if I'm in a different situation, like on the other side, for sure I would think about it. But I try to believe this information and for sure we can go and for motorsports fans, they can make the people happy. That's the most important thing.”

In Indianapolis some riders said they hadn't decided. They weren't going to decide until Misano. What do you think about that?

“Well, it's difficult. In this kind of situation nobody can push anybody. It depends on your point of view. If you believe this information, you don't have to be scared. You can just go without being scared. If you don't believe, for sure you are scared. Life in Japan is going on, so that means things – not everything, for sure – are at the level that you can travel to Japan. I would say please believe this and let's go to Japan and show our race.”

On the racing side, what was the biggest change from last year to this year?

“Well, I changed teams, and this team has a lot of experience. Also the bike becomes a little bit better and I can ride a little bit easier. And in Assen I had a chance to ride for the Repsol team and it was a very nice experience. But unfortunately I crashed and I broke another vertebra in my back. So after that the situation was a little bit difficult to ride the bike. But I tried to keep going on with the bike, but it was very, very difficult. But anyway this time, now, I feel much better on my back and I can push a little bit more on the bike. I'm very happy about that. So now we have five more races to go, so I try to show how I can be up there. And I believe with this bike, which is my bike with the satellite team, I can be good and we believe we can be more at the top end.”

How long did it take before your back felt 100%?

“Well it’s still not 100%, but now, let's say it's 80%. This injury, it's really tough.”

How does it affect you on the motorcycle?

“It's blocked. I cannot move how I want, so this was hard. But from Brno I have felt better on the bike. This is very important and so I am able to push a little bit more on the bike. For me the second year with MotoGP it seems like everything comes easier. Of course it’s a different team, a different set-up of the bike. Everything comes a little bit easier and I can also go a little bit faster.”

Are you looking forward to racing the 1000cc RC213V next year?

“I don't know yet for next year what's going to happen to me, but if I have the opportunity to try the 1000cc, I would say yes for sure. But for that I want to improve a little bit more my position in general.”

Which races are you most looking forward to?

“For sure Motegi (laughing). And I have another race before Motegi, so I want to get good a feeling with the bike, a good rhythm on the bike and I want to go to Japan with high motivation and good energy.”

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