The Team’s Quotes Ahead Of Donington

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Álvaro Bautista:
“Donington is a circuit I love and I had a great race there last year, despite another rider making what you could call an unorthodox pass on me at the end! Anyway, this is another year and I think things have changed for the better. We’re up there and we’re prepared to go head to head with anybody in any race. We’re doing our job well at every circuit and the fiasco at Assen aside our hard work is paying off. Let’s hope that nothing weird happens this weekend, that the weather is on our side, even though it could easily rain on at least one of the days, so that we can have another nice battle like the one for third place on Sunday – except this time over full distance!”

Mike Di Meglio:
“It was a shame not to round off the German Grand Prix with a good result but that is water under the bridge and now I just want to focus on finishing the race at Donington as high up the order as possible. I love the track and I’m going to work really hard over the two days of practice to qualify up near the front. Starting from tenth place, like at Sachsenring, limits you a lot because you have to take a lot of risks to make up positions and you use up your tyres too quickly. So my objective is to get a good grid position and run in the front group. Why not? For one reason or another I haven’t performed at my best level for a while so now is the time to put things right.”

Balázs Németh:
“I am really excited about returning to Grand Prix action at Donington this weekend. I have worked very hard on my rehabilitation programme since the injury to be ready as soon as possible. There have been some difficult moments since the operation. Unlike a lot of the other circuits on the World Championship calendar where I have never raced before I have been to Donington a couple of times and I suppose that will be an advantage. On both occasions that I have raced there it has rained so hopefully this Sunday will be different.”

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Julián Simón:
“The result at Sachsenring was magnificent and I think we deserved another win. Now we have to keep going like this, picking up podiums and fighting for wins in as many races as we can. It is still too early to think about it but the basic necessity in fighting for the title is to be consistent. Now we go to Donington, a circuit I love and where I scored my first ever win. Like Sachsenring it is a track I know I can do well at because it suits my riding style so we have to make the most of this opportunity and head into the summer break with an even bigger lead in the championship if possible. It would be wonderful to string two wins together. My first win here in 2005 was in heavy rain so hopefully on Sunday I can repeat the result in the dry! The team is working perfectly at every Grand Prix and I’m sure this one will be no different. Fortunately now we have a little more breathing space in the championship but we cannot afford to relax.”

Sergio Gadea:
“Whilst I went to Germany with my mind set on a good result, my motivation for Donington, a circuit I like much more, is even higher. Either way, the team and myself are doing a good job and luck has been on our side so far, so I don’t think there are circuits that are more favourable than others. We just have to stay focused on our job and I’m sure we’ll be back up there again on Sunday. It will be tough because Julián is extremely strong in every session and race at the moment but we have to try and keep pace with him. It could easily rain at Donington but we have no need to worry about that because we’ve already shown this season that we can also be really fast in the wet. The objective, as always, will be to finish as high up as we can and not worry about the result.”

Bradley Smith:
“I can’t wait to get to my home race at Donington. The problems in Germany are behind us now and I’m only concentrating on recovering as many points as I can and putting on a good performance for the British fans. The crash at Sachsenring was disappointing but now we go to a circuit I love and where I know I can go fast from the start of the Grand Prix on Friday. Donington Park is a really fun circuit -my favourite section is probably the first few corners, with the downhill drop through Craner Curves. I am particularly fired up for this one and I want to score a good result for my fans so that I can head into the holidays on a high.”