Turkish Grand Prix - MotoGP 

Brand new track for inaugural Turkish GP

For the second time this season after Shanghai, MotoGP uncovers a brand new
circuit this weekend, another creation by the architect of the Chinese track.
The Otodrom International Circuit is around sixty kilometres outside Istanbul
and is another design from celebrated engineer Hermann Tilke, who was also the
creator of Sepang, but it differs from his other tracks as far as it lacks a
long straightaway: the longest being just 720 metres. The track is full of
character nonetheless, with a decent amount of elevation changes, and a series
of very different and challenging corners; some fast, some technical and some
super-slow like 13 and 14. One of Tilke's ideas was to make some of these
corners reflect famous areas on other circuits. For example, turns 1 and 2, are
a copy of the "Senna Esses" at Sao Paolo, whilst turn 11 harks back to the
legendary Eau Rouge at Spa, although slightly less daunting. There is also a
triple right hander at turn 9, similar to the Spoon Curve at Suzuka. It is a
spectacular track for the fans to watch, and will be a demanding circuit for the
riders, because the changes in elevation create some blind corner entries. Even
the building infrastructure is magnificent, with huge pit garages. The only
negatives are the distance from the city itself and the traffic which makes
travel to and from the capital difficult.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda 

"The Turkish race is very exciting for the MotoGP World Championship. As ever
when they arrive at a new circuit, the riders will all get off on an even
footing, and that will be a positive for Chris, who now knows a little more
about the bike with one race behind him. I hope that Alex is better by Friday
morning and that once he gets out on track he isn't compromised too much by the
effects of crash in Australia. We will discover a new track which they say is
very spectacular and we will quickly try to understand how to best prepare the
bike there for our riders."

Alex Barros:

"When I woke up on the morning after the Phillip Island race I stayed still for
a moment, positive that if I had moved I would have seen stars. However things
are going a little better than I expected. I find it hard to move around, and my
left side is hurting a lot, but I have to say it's not as bad as I feared. It's
obviously not the best thing to be going to a new track in less than perfect
physical condition, but I hope to make a quick recovery in these rest days."

Chris Vermeulen:

"With a race under my belt I hope things will be slightly easier this weekend,
even though the track is completely new and there's a lot to learn. The bonus is
that it will e new to everybody. Now I've got a bit more knowledge about the
bike and the tyres, and my objective is to do better than we managed in
Australia. I would like to have a good practice and finish the race in the top
ten. We'll see, I'm very calm about this whole experience and I'm thoroughly
enjoying it."