After a thrilling flyaway start in Qatar and Texas, the MotoGP World Championship returns to racing routine this weekend at the classic Jerez circuit – the first of three races in Spain, and the start of the gruelling European season in the heartland of the series.

The Circuito de Velocidad, just outside Spain’s sherry capital Jerez de la Frontera, has become the traditional European opener as the series gets down to serious week-in week-out business. As such it regularly draws huge, race-starved crowds – more than 180,000 over the three days last year.

The track twists back and forth in hilly ground making natural grandstands for fervent Spanish fans, who have shared in many exciting races and many successes for Honda, including a clear win last year for defending champion Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V).

This year, joint championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) comes home with a fast-growing reputation after he claimed his first MotoGP victory at only his second attempt. His win at Austin added another new record for the 20-year-old – he undercut former Honda triple champion Freddie Spencer to become the youngest-ever premier-class GP winner. Spencer’s record had stood since 1982.

Marquez joined the Repsol Honda team as Moto2 champion, having secured the 125cc crown two years earlier ... but the rider from outside Barcelona has yet to claim a win at the Andalucian circuit, and will hope to change that on Sunday.

For Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V), Jerez has always been special. In the last seven years with the factory team in MotoGP, Dani has never finished off the rostrum, adding five second places and one third to his 2008 victory.

Dani is fresh from his latest rostrum finish, second at Austin, and well placed in what promises to be an epic battle for the title. He currently lies third overall, with compatriot Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) sharing the points lead with Marquez.

The race presents a fresh opportunity for Honda’s other two prototype riders.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) lies sixth overall after finishing sixth and eighth at the opening two races; but hopes to get closer to the front now that a finger injury sustained in a pre-season testing crash at Jerez has fully healed. Former 125 World Champion Bautista is the only MotoGP rider using Showa suspension, combining a crucial development role with his quest for results.

German former Moto2 champion Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) has a little ground to make up, after crashing out of the first round in Qatar. He made a good re-start at Austin, claiming a solid 11 points after a strong ride to fifth place.

MotoGP rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) will have the benefit of prior track knowledge, after joining pre-season tests at Jerez ... making his learning task that much easier. The Australian claimed his first MotoGP finish in Texas, adding valuable track miles on his CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine. Step by step he is gaining experience as he draws closer to the furious CRT battle.

The Circuito de Velocidad has become an important part of the MotoGP series after almost three decades years of continuous use not only for GPs but also as a major test circuit. First used in 1987, it has been on the calendar ever since as host to the Spanish GP, except in 1988 when it ran under the Portuguese flag. In 2002 the layout was modified to add further variety, and the paddock buildings modernised.

In that 26-year span, Honda has won the premier class 17 times, almost three times as many victories as the next-best.

Overlooked by a soaring tower named for one of the famous Jerez sherry houses and with the start-finish straight straddled by a glassed-in circular “UFO”, the very technical track is 4.423 km (2.748 miles) of almost continuous corner sets. There are five to the left and eight right-handers, and a short straight of just over 600 metres (0.38 miles). The lap finishes with a hairpin overlooked by grandstands – frequently the scene of decisive last-lap battles.




Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says:

“The Austin race is a weekend I will never forget and I would like to thank you all for all your support and kind messages! Now we arrive back to Europe and it's important to keep our feet on the ground and remain focused. All the other riders have much more experience than me in these circuits and we will need to work hard. I’m looking forward to racing in front of the Spanish fans for the first time on a MotoGP machine in Jerez and we will try our hardest to get the best result. If we can achieve a podium then it would be great! Our goal is to keep learning and finish each race.”

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:

“Even though I missed out on the victory in Austin, we take many positives from the weekend. I am happy as we have reduced the gap to the leaders and I have recovered the good feelings that we had pre-season. Now we head to Jerez, which is one of my favourite circuits to race at. The atmosphere there is amazing and the fans are very passionate. The weather wasn’t good for us in testing there a month ago, but it’s a track we know well. We will look to continue with the momentum we left Austin and work hard from the first practice session to give ourselves the best chances for the race.”

GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:

“We worked really hard through the weekend at the last Grand Prix at a new and difficult circuit to find a compromise with the setting, but we improved the bike every time we went out. By the end of qualifying I had a great feeling but unfortunately it wasn’t quite the same in the race and in the later laps I was unable to open the gas where I wanted. From that point I just focused on bringing the bike home and scoring as many points as we could after a nice battle with Dovizioso. Now we go to Jerez, which is a very special Grand Prix that feels like the true start to the championship. It is my home Grand Prix, it’s a great place and I love the circuit. Lots of my friends and fans are coming down to Jerez and the atmosphere will be incredible. We have a lot of data for the track, which should allow us to be competitive from the start, so we will be working hard to find maximum confidence with the bike. I really want a good result in front of my fans! It is a technically complete track with slow and fast corners, hard braking zones and some fantastic direction changes. It will be crucial to find a good compromise for the chassis and suspension and the electronics play a very important role at this track. I took my first ever win at Jerez so it is a place that holds great memories for me.”

LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl says:

“I am really looking forward to the first round in Europe. We have tested the bike there in March gathering useful data for the race weekend and I was comfortable with the bike’s overall package. I am happy to be back in Europe because we return to the standard time schedule, and the atmosphere especially in Spain is very warm. After my DNF in Qatar I was happy to battle with the guys in the front in Austin which is a very technical race track. So I think we will arrive in Jerez with a good base and high motivation to maintain our position in the top five.”

GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Bryan Staring says:

“I was happy to complete full race distance in MotoGP for the first time at Austin because I was able to learn a lot. It means we go to Jerez on the back of a positive experience and we know we have the opportunity to take another big step forward in terms of my adaptation to this class. Every time I go out on the bike I get a better feeling for the bike and the main thing right now is to complete laps and follow the instructions of the team. Jerez is an incredible circuit and this is my first chance to race in front of the amazing crowds that MotoGP attracts in Europe. I am feeling confident and can’t wait to get out on track.”

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