 | It was an incredible performance by the Spaniard and he showed that he is going to be a force to be reckoned with Steve Parrish on Jorge Lorenzo |
Race two of the MotoGP season takes us to Spain and to Jerez, a track that all the riders know oh so well. The track is used extensively for testing and between the 18 riders, they put in over 3,000 laps at the circuit in pre-season. This is obviously a massive help to the teams as it gives them a chance to sort out any gremlins they may have found with the bikes and the track. As a result, we should find a lot of people running at the same speed this weekend. There shouldn't be anyone on the grid with a bike that is miles off the pace because they've had so long on the track that it tends to close the gap between the teams a little bit. This makes for close races so I'm expecting a ding-dong battle and TV viewers should be in for a real treat. Riders on Michelin tyres must be very pleased going into this weekend after the encouraging performance they put in under the lights in Qatar. | JEREZ MOTOGP Qualifying Saturday, BBCi and BBC Sport website, 1250-1400
125cc, 250cc races live: Sunday, BBCi and BBC Sport website, 0945-1215
Race live: Sunday, BBC TWO, 1230-1400
MotoGP Extra: Sunday, BBCi and BBC Sport website 1430-1500
Coverage of BBCi can be found by Freeview viewers on channel 302
Coverage on the BBC Sport website is available for UK users only |
Bikes on Michelin tyres took seven out of the top ten spots and looked very solid. Michelin lost their way a bit last season and their tyres didn't work over such a wide temperature range as the Bridgestones did. But over the winter I think Michelin have done what they said they were going to do, they have a lot of new staff there that have gone away, worked hard and come on leaps and bounds. They've put their massive levels of experience, money and analysis into coming up with something that seems to be working. Valentino Rossi took the bold step of changing from Michelin to Bridgestones in the close season and unless things turn round quite dramatically he's going to be thinking, 'what have I done?'. Further bad news for Rossi is that Jerez was the only track at which the riders using Bridgestone tyres didn't podium last season. Jerez is often described as a real rider's track as it requires a mixture of smoothness and aggression. It's not a horse power circuit where you can pass people easily on the straights. It's one of those tracks where you have to keep the bike flowing with high corner speed and aggression in the braking areas, because that's the only realistic place to overtake. | MY SPORT: DEBATE |
So watch out for the three big braking zones on turn one, the end of the back straight and into the final corner. The British media rightly focused on James Toseland's excellent sixth place finish in his MotoGP debut in Qatar but it somewhat overshadowed the performance of another rookie, Jorge Lorenzo, who finished second. It was an incredible performance by the Spaniard and he showed that he is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Unlike Toseland, he does have the benefit of knowing all the tracks thanks to his success in the 250cc category and he is also riding on a factory bike that has more speed than Toseland's Tech 3. Yet to finish three places ahead of his Yamaha team-mate was a real kick in the nuts for five-time world champion Rossi. And Lorenzo will be on home soil this weekend so I expect him to go well in front of his countrymen. Just a quick word on Toseland. I thought he was absolutely superb in Qatar and it was an amazingly solid start. And the good news is he knows he will get some improvements to his bike when he gets to Estoril in April. I had lunch with him last week in the Isle of Man and he is so relieved to prove to himself that he can run with the best. Long may it continue. Jerez prediction: 1. Rossi 2. Stoner 3. Pedrosa
Steve Parrish was talking to Paul Birch
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