Nicky Hayden gets MotoGP test time at Mugello

This Wednesday and Thursday, Ducati MotoGP star Nicky Hayden will join the factory's Test Team during the last two days of a three-day test at Mugello.

The aim of the test is to permit the American, who finished sixth and top Ducati at round one in Qatar, to make up for time lost during winter testing due to injuries at the 2011 Valencia Grand Prix and then in a December training event.

Hayden is thus predictable to use the time as an opportunity to carry out set-up tests that he wasn't able to complete prior to the start of the season. The 2006 world champion will join official test rider Franco Battaini, who is previously on track today (Tuesday) as he continues his development work on the GP12.

Those updates will be tried by Valentino Rossi and Hayden during future tests.

Round two of the 2012 MotoGP season takes place at Jerez, Spain, from April 27-29.

Stoner and Pedrosa geared up for Qatar

The 2012 MotoGP™ World Championship publicly starts this weekend in Qatar, the small Peninsula off the Persian Gulf, noted for hosting the only race of the calendar under floodlights. The Commercial bank Grand Prix of Qatar is, without any doubt, one of the most impressive races of the season.

Months of development, testing and hard work have gone into the training for this season which sees a switch to 1000cc bikes. In adding up to this change the Repsol Honda Team faces another challenge; defending the Triple Crown they achieved in 2011 when they won the rider, team and constructor titles.

Casey Stoner, the current MotoGP World Champion, has also been the man to beat in pre-season, dominating both tests in Malaysia and Jerez, where his team-mate, Dani Pedrosa, also established himself as one of the fastest riders in the top class.

Stoner’s record at the Losail circuit is impressive: he is the main position with four pole positions and four wins out of six in the MotoGP class. Pedrosa has visited the podium three times in MotoGP and will be fighting, like the Australian, for a strong start to the season.

Casey Stoner:

“After good pre-season Tests in both Sepang and Jerez, we head to Qatar feeling positive, but still have some work to do. This will be the first time with the new bike on this circuit so we will need to expend some time on the set-up to put ourselves in the best position. We've constantly enjoyed good results at the Losail circuit but this is a new season and there are more competitors contesting for victory this year. I'm keyed up to get the season started and fight for another World Championship.”

Dani Pedrosa:

“Each year is different and there are always a variety of obstacles to go through during a season. I’ve had good and bad races in the past, but a big part of these results are resolute by how you have prepared yourself in the winter. I’ve worked very well this year, I had a good pre-season with the bike and with my physical training; I hope that luck is on my side this time, so we can have a good championship. Qatar is significant because it’s the first race of the season, but you have to minimize risks. If you don't win this race you can at rest win the championship, but on the other side, a mistake can make difficult the year. I’m ready. Let’s see how everything goes and where each person is.”

Announcement regarding Formula One finances

Formula One Group has launched a process to expand its current financing facilities. This will involve raising $2.27bn of new services with maturities in 2017/18, replacing the company’s accessible $2.92bn facilities which are due to full-grown in 2013/14. The new facilities will offer the business with a secure, long term capital structure.

Proceeds raised will be kept within the Group for general business purposes and the company has no current plans to pay a bonus.

Raikkonen targets Malaysian podium

Kimi Raikkonen says he is confident of scoring his first podium since returning to F1 in this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix after picking up points in his maiden outing for Lotus in Australia.

The Finn suffered in qualifying at Albert Park and failed to make it past Q1, even though he came through the field to finish seventh and give Lotus its first point’s finish of the year.

Having managed to come from side to side the field on race day down under, Raikkonen said he was happy with the concert shown by the E20 and felt confident that he could he could fight for more during the second round of the year at Sepang.

“The car feels very good,” he said. “In the race I was wedged in traffic a lot so it didn't show so much, and who knows what strength have happened if we had a better grid a slot. There is a lot of speed in the car.

“We'll be trying to get better our performance in Malaysia for sure. We don't know how the car will behave there but it's been good everywhere so far so hopefully it'll be the same there. It'll be hot and humid which is a confront but we have a good car. As long as qualifying goes well we might be fighting for podiums. We'll have to wait and see.

“There's much more to come. We're learning concerning the car all the time and the last race didn't really give us the chance to use its full possible. Hopefully Malaysia will be a bit more straightforward.”

Raikkonen's seventh place stop in Australia came in his first F1 start since Abu Dhabi 2009, but the former Ferrari driver insisted he felt at home straight-away in spite of the changes that have taken place over the past two years while he has been competing in the WRC.

“To be honest it didn't feel any dissimilar to when I last raced,” he said. “There have been a few rule changes but the racing itself is very similar. The DRS is easier to use in the race than in practice or qualifying because there are only certain places you can set in motion it, whereas in the other sessions people will try to push the limits of how early they can use it which can easily lead to a mistake if you are too destructive.”

Yamaha developing 'next invention of MotoGP electronics

Yamaha is setting up to initiate its next generation of MotoGP electronics early in the 2012 racing season.

Masahiko Nakajima, general manager of Yamaha's Motorsport Development Division, explained that the present control system fitted to the new 1000cc M1 is an addition of technology used for the previous 800cc machine.

However, the next generations of electronics are being developed in similar.

"We have changed the electric control - particularly traction control, wheelie control and also engine braking - for the 1000. But the electric manage is still not the new generation," explained Nakajima, speaking during last week's Sepang test.

"The current developments are based on the equal electric control strategy as last year, but parallel development of the next generation is ongoing. As soon as we attain good enough results with the next generation we will introduce it.

"I can't say accurately when, but I hope early in the season."

Yamaha has been mounting this next generation, in partnership with Magneti Marelli, since last year.

Asked to give details the advantages of the new system, Nakajima explained that it would be more suited to the complexities of real world motorcycle dynamics.

"The existing generation of computer has a motorcycle 'model' inside, so the computer knows things like 'now the bike is standing up, or banking, or braking, which corner'. This is normal. Our competitors' control systems also work like this," he began.

"For the next generation we need a more exact motorcycle model inside the computer and also how to motivate the engine or chassis more effectively. You have to think again these areas to make another step."

 for more

vettel: I could not have done this alone

Sebastian Vettel claimed a leading second World title in Suzuka on Sunday but insists the "hardest thing is winning after winning last year."

Vettel has been by far the best driver on the grid this season, claiming 12 pole positions and nine race victories. Added to that, he also had an added five podium finishes to his name.

But while his race to the World title may have looked easy on paper, Vettel reckons winning the second is harder than claiming the first.

"The hardest thing is winning after winning last year," he said. "We won the Championship, it was so close and we were so eager, even knowing how to do it doesn't let you to forget all these steps.

"I could not have done this all alone. It is as confusing as the first one I must say. It is hard to hit upon the right words."

The German, who finished Sunday's Japanese GP in third place after being beaten by Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in the pits, was quite emotional in the post-race press conference.

"It's hard where to start. It's such a long year and a unbelievable year and the good thing is it's not over yet," he said.

"Today's race we weren't as quick on the soft tyres and we misplaced two positions. It was difficult to get past Alonso and I don't think he's letting me throughout this way twice after Monza.

"To win the Championship here is unbelievable.

"There are so many things you want to say but it's hard to keep in mind all of them. I'm so thankful to everyone in the team, pushing hard to construct those two cars. It's great to attain the goal we set ourselves this year already now.

"One person that actually stands out this year is the person I spend most of my time with my trainer Tommi Parmakoski. He was the one not allowing me at any stage this year to start to think about things that were not in my power.

"It's great to know that it is so rigid but to know that we can come so strong out of it. This year we've always been this one step ahead. It's down to people like Tommi and persons who keep us on the right track."

Sunday's title means Vettel has gone downward in the record books as F1's youngest double World Champ and youngest back-to-back title holder.

US premiere of Fastest to get place this month

The much predictable US premiere of Fastest will take place on October 14th with a private and exclusive screening at The Deuce Lounge inside the Aria resort and Casino at City Center in Las Vegas.

Shot around the world in 2010 and 2011 Fastest, the sequel to the enormously successful Faster, captures the thrilling reality of the MotoGP World Championship and distills it into a maximum-speed, full-length documentary feature film. As with its predecessor, Fastest is narrated by bike enthusiast and actor Ewan McGregor, and brilliantly captures a essential moment in the sport. In pursuit of his tenth world title Valentino Rossi meets the toughest challenge of his career to date; a wave of fiercely fast young riders, a horrific leg-breaking crash at his home Mugello GP, an amazing but agonising comeback 41 days later at the Sachsenring, and the question of who really is the fastest rider now?

Directed by the award-winning Mark Neale, whose previous work includes Faster and The Doctor, The Tornado and the Kentucky Kid, Fastest debuted worldwide on September 20th in the UK to an audience of 1300 and has established rave reviews.

Pedrosa takes spectacular Motegi MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa (Honda) took the the honours in a dramatic Japanese Grand Prix where only two of the top seven riders didn't either run off the circuit or incur a ride-through penalty (or both!). Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and Pedrosa's Honda team mate Casey Stoner completed the podium.

MOTOGP

The 24-lap race began with pole man Stoner launching into Turn 1 at the head of the field, while team mate Andrea Dovizioso jumped the start from the front row, with Marco Simoncelli (Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Tech 3) also incurring ride from side to side penalties for the similar mistake.

Ducati's Valentino Rossi crashed out on the first lap, colliding with Yamaha rider Ben Spies and forcing off the track and down the order. Meanwhile Stoner appeared set to take another victory, leading clear and free until running off the track on lap five, just before Ducati privateer Hector Barbera crashed out, and Nicky Hayden on the second works Ducati went farming while running fourth.

MotoGP results	Points afer 15 rounds
1 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda - 42min47.481	1 Casey Stoner (Australia) Honda - 300 points
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha +7.299sec	2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha - 260
3 Casey Stoner (Australia) Honda +18.380	3 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda - 196
4 Marco Simoncelli (Italy) Honda +23.550	4 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda - 195
5 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda +23.691	5 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha - 156
6 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha +37.604	6 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Ducati - 139
7 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati +39.167	7 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati - 123
8 Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha +45.023	8 Marco Simoncelli (Italy) Honda - 119
9 Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) Honda +49.074	9 Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha - 98
10 Randy de Puniet (France) Ducati +59.022	10 Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) Honda - 94
11 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha +1min13.964
12 Kousuke Akiyoshi (Japan) Honda +1min21.709
13 Shinichi Ito (Japan) Honda +1min26.381 POINTS AFTER 15 ROUNDS

Supreme Vettel secures victory

Sebastian Vettel took a leading victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, holding off a late charge from Jenson Button whose second place ensured the title hunt will stay alive for at least another round.

Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are now all mathematically out of the running after finishing third, fourth and fifth on the streets of Singapore. Button was the only man to take the fight to Vettel but the champion elect's attentiveness never wavered and he was rewarded with his ninth victory of the season.

He led contentedly from the start of the race, extending his advantage at more than a second a lap through the early stages. He then responded to the possible danger of a safety car period by pulling out a similarly imposing lead at the restart before defending from Button's late charge over the final ten laps.

The McLaren was within 1.7s of Vettel at the chequered flag after pushing hard on super soft tyres and trying to take benefit of back markers. However, closing the gap was one thing while really passing Vettel would have been another challenge completely and in the end the Red Bull never looked under serious threat. Webber was 27.5s behind Button in third, with Alonso another 26.1s down the road in fourth.

Sebastian Vettel deserves title say Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has paid honor to his rival Sebastian Vettel, saying the Red Bull driver deserves to win the world title this season.

Vettel can be crowned this Sunday if he wins and Alonso is lower than third with McLaren's Jenson Button and Red Bull's Mark Webber lower than second.

Alonso said: "He's been the best driver, (with) the best team. They justify to be where they are."

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton added Vettel had been "exceptional this year".

Vettel said he was going to treat the Singapore weekend like any other race.

"So far we haven't won anything," the German said. "(There is) still some way to go, we have to race and do our best.

"It is a long way to the chequered flag. Certain things have to happen, and it reminds me a little bit of the condition we had in Abu Dhabi last year when people came up and gave me another choice every five minutes.

"The target is to optimise our performance. The target has been to protect our title, there is no reason why the target should change."

And Vettel starved of he felt under any extra pressure this weekend because of the championship being so close.

McLaren says team and drivers 'will remain taking risks'

A series of mistakes have proved costly for the team in 2011 with Jenson Button yielding that the title has now gone.

When asked by BBC Sport whether McLaren would continue to take risks, the team's managing director Jonathan Neale said: "Yes, very much so.

"We're dissatisfied with not endearing but [Formula 1] is not a game of being risk-adverse."

Button and McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton are 117 and 126 points correspondingly behind Red Bull's championship leader Sebastian Vettel in the drivers' standings with 150 remaining.

The two drivers have each won two races this period but also racked up two retirements apiece with the team, at times, failing to capitalise when they had the quickest car at convinced points in the season.

Button saw his race end early when the team did not completely safe his right front wheel in the pits at the British Grand Prix, while, at Spa, the 2009 world champion had to battle from 13th on the grid to third after a "miscommunication" with his team in qualifying.

In Hungary, Hamilton lost the lead when he made the wrong tyre choice and stopped out in Belgium when he tried to pass the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi.

And in Canada, the two drivers banged wheels during the race. Button went on to win but Hamilton was required to retire.

Rossi: Aragon expectations 'higher than usual'

Valentino Rossi is raising his prospect 'a little higher than usual' as he heads for Ducati's best event of the 2010 season, at Aragon.

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden finished one-three in Moto GP's first ever race at the imposing Spanish circuit last year, when Rossi finished sixth for Yamaha.

Rossi returns sixth in the 2011 championship, with just one stage, from his 13 races on the Desmosedici.

“Last year at Aragon was the best race of the year for Ducati, so we move toward this round with our expectations a little higher than usual," said Rossi.

"In addition, after the difficult practice sessions at Misano, we establish a good setup in the end and I had a better feeling with the bike and managed to ride it better in the race, particularly in the early laps.

"Now we'll try to unite the two things - the track that seems to work well with the Desmosedici and the good setup work - in order to find the same feeling on Sunday.”

Team manager Vittoriano Guareschi doesn't wait for any major breakthrough this weekend, and again emphasised that Ducati is working for the future.

“We have some great memories of Aragon from last year, so we're happy to return. Every season has its own story though, and we're currently working not only for this weekend but also beyond," he said.

"Our riders and team are completely listening carefully on the goal, and they're giving us a collaborative working group that I think is tremendously important. At Aragon, we expect to continue gathering data and in sequence on the Desmosedici and to speed up the setup work during the practice sessions.”

Nicky Hayden expects wait for Ducati front-end mods

Nicky Hayden says he’s got no thought when he will get his chance to race new front-end parts that proved a big get through for Valentino Rossi in Brno last weekend.

A vague front-end feeling and an under steer issue have been long-term complaints for Rossi and Hayden all through the 2011 MotoGP campaign.

Yet a revised front-end setting that Rossi raced to sixth place in the Czech Republic last weekend twisted out to be a big improvement, with the Italian’s crew chief Jerry Burgess hailing the change as the biggest breakthrough since Rossi first rode the Desmosedici last November in Valencia.

The modifications, which incorporated changes to the front axle that gave Rossi more flex at the bottom of the forks, were built-in to Hayden’s GP11.1 machine during the Brno MotoGP test session earlier this week.

And while the American was able to right away feel the big improvement in front-end performance, his bike won’t run the revised set-up in Indianapolis next weekend, He told MCN: “I got it for a couple of hours and it was a nice little step but we don’t have a lot of parts and I had to give it back and I almost certainly won’t get it back for a while.

"It was better for steering and it helped feel the front tyre a bit better. It just takes time to make the parts and I almost certainly won’t get it for a while, but it was a nice help and clearly it is a better way.”

Dovizioso closes on Lorenzo with fifth podium

Andrea Dovizioso's hopes of challenging for the runners-up spot in the 2011 MotoGP World Championship were known a boost at Brno with a strong run to second, a result that closes the gap to Jorge Lorenzo.

The Repsol Honda rider has been an instance of consistency this year, finishing all but one race inside the top five, performances that place him a comfortable third heading into the second-half of the year.

Although he is yet to taste the winners' champagne this season, Dovizioso's second place – from seventh on the grid - marks his fifth trip to the podium and puts him 23 points at the back Lorenzo in the overall standings.

“I'm really happy to be back on the podium, it's a good result after a hard weekend and second position is so important for the Championship,” the Italian said. “In the warm-up we made some small changes and my feeling improved. I arrived at the race very strong-minded and I made a very good start from seventh position.

“In the first laps I was riding carefully to save the tyres. I had good pace and when Dani pedrosa crashed I tried to stay with Casey but I made a mistake at turn 13 and I approximately went off the track. I lost contact and from that moment Casey stoner built a gap that was not possible to catch. I'm happy of how I managed the race first with Lorenzo and then with Simoncelli to uphold second position.

“In the final five laps I pushed harder, lapping under 1'58 to uphold the margin from Marco. I didn't want to fight with him in the last corners. I want to thank Honda and the team for the good work, in spite of the fact that we struggled slightly over the weekend, we have established one more time that in the race we are there and I'm really looking forward to Indy in two weeks' time.”

Red Bull will not modify philosophy despite winless run

Sebastian Vettel, who has an 83-point championship lead, and team-mate Mark Webber together called for a re-think.

But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told BBC Sport: "We work as a team and the drivers don't need to tell the team we need to react.

"Ferrari and McLaren are going through a spirited phase but we're still right there. We're pushing flat out."

Vettel stormed to conquest in six out of the first eight races but his progress has been slowed as Ferrari and McLaren have enhanced their pace in the races to close the gap on Red Bull.

Fernando Alonso won in Britain for Ferrari, with McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button taking a conquest apiece in Germany and Hungary.

While it appears that Red Bull's period of dominance is over, Horner does not believe that the tide has turned against the champion team.

"We don't look at it like that," said Horner. "We need to keep doing the best job we can and keep getting developments to the car.

"If you look at all the races this year, I don't think there is any race that we've run away and immensely dominated. 

Ducati: No 1000cc test at Brno

Ducati's 2012 MotoGP prototype will keep away from a head-to-head assessment with rival 1000cc machines from Honda and Yamaha, after the factory announced that this year's 800cc bike will be used at Monday's official post-race test at Brno.

Ducati has already used five of the eight days of 1000cc testing acceptable with MotoGP riders this year - compared with two days for Honda and none for Yamaha.

All the preceding factory 1000cc tests have been detained in private, but that will change on Monday in the Czech Republic with Honda and Yamaha both confirming that their factory MotoGP riders will try 2012 bikes.

However Ducati has determined that both Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will offer that day to working on the 800'.

“The Test Team tried some electronics updates at Mugello, and we'll use them in the post-race test at Brno to carry on improving the setup and reduce the gap to the lead group," said team manager Vittoriano Guareschi.

"Filippo [Preziosi] will be on hand Monday, and we'll carry on the development work on the GP11.1 with both Valentino and Nicky.”

While Rossi will go on to ride the GP11.1 throughout the grand prix weekend, team-mate Hayden - who completed his first laps on the customized bike during Friday practice at the previous US GP - revealed that he is probable to use the original GP11.

"Obviously the test on Monday will be really significant for us. I'll almost certainly just ride the GP11 on the race weekend and then test the new bike on Monday," said the American.

Rossi and Hayden will start round eleven (of 18) holding fifth and seventh in the world championship, with one podium apiece so far this period.

Alonso: A 'moral obligation' to fight

This year's Championship has not been a first-class one for Ferrari who were slow out of the blocks. The Scuderia had to wait until round nine of the season, the British GP, to record their first race victory and to date it has been their only one.

With just 215 points to their tally, the Italian stable trails leaders Red Bull Racing by 168 points in the Constructors' Championship while Alonso, Ferrari's best-placed driver in the race for the World title, is 89 points behind Sebastian Vettel.

But despite the huge deficits and the momentous task ahead, Alonso is adamant they will not give up on their season.

"We must try and win as numerous races as possible," he said during a visit to the Dolomites for Ferrari's Wrooom Summer 2011.

"We are sensible and the Championship situation is what it is, but we have seen so often that there can be sudden reversals.

"And after all, we are Ferrari and we have a ethical obligation, especially for the millions of fans spread around the world, to always think of the utmost goal.

"We can't ever say we will undertake eight races without having the Championship in the back of our mind: we will always have an eye on the title, at least until there is no longer the least chance.

"Of course we must start winning and we have to expect that Vettel makes a few mistakes or has some problems."

Alonso: A great month for Ferrari

After a trying start to the Championship, which resulted in wholesale changes within the Scuderia, Ferrari and Alonso have come superior in recent races.

The Spaniard has bagged five podium finishes in six races and achieved his fourth consecutive top-three result in Hungary on Sunday afternoon.

Starting the race from fifth on the grid, Alonso made the most of the changing conditions to work his way up into third place, adding a further 15 points towards his title campaign.

"I think we are positive we can do a good second part of the Championship," he said. "The car has improved a lot, we are fighting for podiums, pole positions.

"July was a fantastic month. I am the driver who scored the most points in July, in three different conditions, at three dissimilar tracks. The team did a step onward and McLaren also did a good step forward so competition is quite fun.

"Unfortunately it was not very hot in July. We love high temperatures so expectantly August and September will be better for us."

As for Sunday's grand prix, the double World Champ will most likely wonder about what could have been had he not been bogged down at the start, losing places to both Mercedes GP drivers before coming up behind Mark Webber.

"I think in these type of conditions the race is very, very long - you need to be always paying attention with so many pitstops and so many weather conditions," he said.

"The start did not go as predicted, both Mercedes GP cars overtook us at the start, so I had to overtake Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher then with pit stops I was stuck at the back Webber.

"After that I was able to push with free air, and was quite quick, but for the first 20 laps we were after Mercedes and Mark."

Ferrari's Alonso expects to confront Red Bull

The Spaniard drove his improving Ferrari to second position at the Nurburgring, while Vettel was fourth.

"We have been first or second in the last three races, with three different types of circuits and temperatures.

"We saw our constancy and it puts us in a very good position for the final part of the championship," said Alonso.

Alonso trails Vettel by 86 points but the Ferrari driver is positive the gap can be closed - particularly with McLaren mounting a strong defy and collecting their third victory of the season through Lewis Hamilton in Germany.

The next round of the season is in Hungary and Alonso feels his car will advantage from the warmer climate.

He added: "I am looking forward. With a little bit more temperature in the track at Budapest it will be a help for us.

"Soft and super soft tyres for next week should be an benefit for us in the way we take care of our tyres. So in one week I am sure we will have a very attractive race again.

"McLaren did a step forward and is prepared to take victories. When there is more competition, you need to take races in a different way, you need to be ideal in all things: the start, the pit stops, qualifying etc.

"We have a small chance to get well the gap in the championship, if we do races like today, we are on the podium and Vettel is not.

"We need the best probable performance from our team and, in my case, we need the best McLaren having the kind of race they did today - but hopefully we can be ahead.

"Red Bull will be extremely strong in Budapest as we saw last year, so it is demanding for us but we are looking forward."

Capirossi: This time I’m really returning

Loris Capirossi says he certainly race in the United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca having been forced to withdraw from the German Grand Prix less than a week ago.

The Italian planned to come back to racing action at the Sachsenring having missed the previous two races at Assen and Mugello, jokingly declaring pre-event that only he can ride his Pramac Racing Desmosedici.

However, Capirossi would then withdraw after just a single practice session, with World Superbike racer Sylvain Guintoli taking his place for the remainder of the weekend.

Nonetheless, in spite of the proximity to the next event in the United States, Capirossi insists he will return at Laguna Seca, the experienced rider reiterating the 'ownership' of his bike.

“This time I'm really recurring to the track. As I said before the Sachsenring weekend, the Desmosedici is mine, and seeing another rider on it concerned me a lot. I'm not in top form, but I've worked over the past few days to be in polite physical condition.

“The track is very tough, which isn't ideal for my situation, but I'll give 110% to be able to finish the race. I'm expecting a very challenging weekend.”