The MotoGP World Championship arrives at its last European stop prior to the Australasian flyaways with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) hoping to get back on track after an unlucky San Marino Grand Prix.

Having won the prior two races, in Indianapolis and Brno, Pedrosa was looking to make it three in a row when he was taken out on the first lap by another rider. It was the first time during Pedrosa’s most consistent season that he failed to finish. And it was only the second time he had been off the podium. Despite his bad luck, Pedrosa remains second in the championship as he arrives in Aragon.

Pedrosa finished second to team-mate Casey Stoner last year in Aragon and also in 2010. That would have made him the favourite this year, if not for his injuries suffered during qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Stoner remains in Australia continuing to recover from the ankle injuries suffered in the crash just after the summer break. Writing on his personal blog, the two-time MotoGP World Champion said he was hopeful of returning for the Japanese Grand Prix, the first of the flyaway triple-header, though he and his doctors have not set a definite date.

Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda teammate for the weekend is Jonathan Rea, the Irishman whose contract with the Honda World Superbike team was recently extended. Rea made his MotoGP debut in Brno, which was sandwiched between two World Superbike races. By the time Rea finishes the World Superbike season in Magny-Cours the weekend after Aragon, he will have raced five weekends in a row.

Rea celebrated his contract extension by finishing second in the second race in Portimao, his fifth podium of the year. He will carry that momentum to Aragon where he’s looking forward to continuing his education aboard the Repsol Honda RC213V.

Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) finished an emotional and career best third, - his first MotoGP podium - at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, a race held a short drive from the Gresini race shop in the town of San Clemente. The race was the first for the team at the circuit since it was renamed for the former San Carlo Honda Gresini rider.

Bautista had one of his best finishes of the 2011 season at the race in Aragon in what was one of his toughest stretches of the year. Though he is racing in front of his fellow Spaniards, Bautista is not a fan of the technical circuit, where he finds it difficult to arrive at a good setting.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) continues his rookie season in Aragon two weeks after being denied his first podium by a slowly deflating tyre in Misano. Bradl was thick in the podium mix in the San Marino Grand Prix before being forced to slow. The German was in a heated battle for third with veteran riders on the 18th of 27 laps when the bad luck hit. And Bradl was at the tail end of the podium contenders up to three laps from the finish of his 100th grand prix start.

San Carlo Honda Gresini CRT rider Michele Pirro has had two solid finishes on the Honda CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine including tenth in the team’s home race in Misano. Pirro went through a character-building stretch of difficulty in July and August that ended with his points-paying finish in the Czech Grand Prix after the team responded to the earlier challenges. Then came the result in Misano, where he joined in the celebration of team-mate Bautista’s podium finish. With constant improvements to his FTR-framed Honda, the only one in the CRT field, Pirro is confident he can put his name among the top CRT riders on a track that he likes and where he made his debut in Moto2.

A collection of boldface names is responsible for the ultra-modern Motorland Aragon motorsports complex. Formula One track architect Herman Tilke teamed with former Formula One driver Pedro de la Rosa in designing the layout of the race course. British architect Sir Norman Foster designed the sprawling complex and infrastructure, which goes far beyond the race track. The complex was designed as both a leisure and cultural facility, as well as a technical center with state-of-the-art research and educational facilities for the motorcycle and automotive industries.

Laid out on rolling hillsides, the anti-clockwise circuit is 5.078Km long with 17 bends, 10 lefts and seven rights. The track is tricky and technical, with elevation changes, blind corners, and plenty of lean angle, which means tyre management is a key for the MotoGP riders. As is a robust motor to get down the 968m straightaway that leads to the final sequence, a double-apex left-hand 180.




Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:

“Aragón is a very good race and the circuit is impressive. We went there with the team for a two day test at the beginning of this month and we did a good job. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the Spanish crowd again; it would be great to see the circuit full of people like we had in the previous years. The bike is working well and I'm feeling good; we go there with the same determination as always and motivated to continue riding well and have another good race.”

Repsol Honda rider Jonathan Rea says:

“I am now in week four of my five back-to-back races including both SBK and MotoGP, but I am still really excited about this coming race. Having tested in Aragon on the RC213V a couple of weeks ago, I am feeling more confident coming to this race than I was in Misano. Hopefully I will be able to pick up where I left off after the test as I was really starting to bond with the bike. Aragon has a really long straight which suits the power of the Honda and I am really looking forward to working with the Repsol Honda guys again and building on the experience I have gained to date.”

LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl says:

“We already had three days of testing there and I am quite confident ahead of this weekend because we have found a good set-upp and we can hopefully use this advantage. Honestly, it’s not one of my favorite circuits, but at the end it’s not that bad. In Misano we had another good weekend battling for the podium, so I am happy to know I can race up in the pack. There are only five races to go and I am aiming to score as many points as possible to end this season in the top five. That would be a great result for me and the team.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:

“The team did a great job at Misano in the only dry session we had available to find a good setting for the bike and even improve it from what we had at Brno. I struggled a little bit to get into my rhythm at the start and lost a few positions, but once I felt I could push the bike I was able to recover all the way back up to third. I even tried to attack Valentino (Rossi) for second but my confidence in the front end still wasn't quite 100% so I decided not to risk a crash and to hang on for a podium. At the end I was happy with the result but also with the way the bike was working. It was a special weekend for the whole team and thanks to them I was able to deliver a fantastic result. It was my first podium in MotoGP and we were able to celebrate it all together. Now after the race at Misano I can go into my next home round feeling confident and highly motivated. We didn't have such a good time in the test here after the Barcelona race, but with the steps we have made with the bike since then I hope things are different this weekend. Aragon hasn't been bad to me over the past couple of years, so I hope that on Sunday I can be involved in the fight for the podium again, although it won't be easy. We'll work hard in practice to find the best possible setting to adapt to the track. Aragon isn't one of my favourites. It has some fast corners, some hard braking and some difficult direction changes as well as a very long straight. It's not easy to find a setting that works around the whole track.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Michele Pirro says:

“Misano was a fantastic and exciting weekend with all the events organised for Marco and the result has given me a lot of confidence. We started from scratch at Misano with the goal of making a strong finish to the championship and I am confident we can continue in the same way from here. We have closed the gap to the top CRTs and I am confident that in the next rounds we can be fighting to be ahead of them. I like Aragon a lot and I actually made my debut with Team Gresini here in Moto2 a couple of years ago.”

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