Pedrosa ready to fight at season opener in Qatar after good preseason

The Losail International Circuit will light up this weekend for the opening round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship. The Repsol riders, present in the three Grand Prix categories of MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3, are excited about the challenge ahead after an excellent two months of preseason. The Qatar Grand Prix will be the only race of the 18 on the MotoGP calendar to take place at night.

Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa arrive in Doha with their homework done and with their 1000cc machines set up for a fight for the title — won by Stoner last year. Stoner has taken victory in Qatar at four of the past five races and will be looking to extend his enviable record at the track. He was also the winner of the most recent race, the Valencia GP at the end of 2011. Teammate Dani Pedrosa is looking for a first Qatar GP win and to go one closer to the 100 podium mark —he currently has 97 to his name.

Dani Pedrosa: “Each year is different and there are always various 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 determined 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 important because it’s the first race of the season, but you have to minimise risks. If you don’t win this race you can still win the championship, but on the other side, a mistake can complicate the year. I’m ready. Let’s see how everything goes and where everyone is”.

Source: Repsol Media