SUNDAY RACING GUIDE
29 October 2006 - Moto GP

Gran Premio bwin.com de la Comunitat Valenciana - Sunday Guide

Gran Premio bwin.com de la Comunitat Valenciana - Sunday 29th October

• The top ten riders on the grid have lapped faster than the pole position record set last year by Sete Gibernau.

• Valentino Rossi starts from pole for the fifth time in 2006.

• Since joining Yamaha at the start of 2004, Rossi has only once finished lower than second from the fourteen occasions he has qualified on pole; which was when he took fourth at Jerez in his second race with the factory.

• If Valentino Rossi wins the MotoGP title it will be the biggest comeback ever in the premier-class when there has not been an injury to a leading rider, overcoming a 51 point deficit to Nicky Hayden following the US Grand Prix.

• Troy Bayliss has equalled his best ever grid position in MotoGP, which came at Jerez in 2003.

• Bayliss finished third on his last race for Ducati in MotoGP at Valencia in 2004.

• Loris Capirossi, who starts from the front row for the seventh time in 2006, needs just a single point to equal his best ever points haul in the premier-class.

• Shinya Nakano’s seventh place finish in 2004 is Kawasaki’s best result at this track.

• Nicky Hayden is aiming to become only the second rider ever to come from behind and win the title in the final race. The previous occasion was in 1992, when Wayne Rainey arrived at the last round just two points behind Mick Doohan, who was still recovering from injuries sustained in a crash earlier in the season.

• Dani Pedrosa can achieve the highest ever points’ total by a rookie in the premier-class by finishing higher than ninth. The current record is held by Valentino Rossi, who scored 209 points in 2000.

• Pedrosa could also become the youngest ever rider to score Grand Prix wins in three classes at the same circuit, taking the record from Mike Hailwood.

• Chris Vermeulen, who finished second in both World Superbike races at Valencia last year, has qualified inside the top ten for the first time since he was on pole at Laguna Seca in July.


• This is the fifth occasion that an Aprilia and Honda rider have arrived at the final race of the year battling for the title. In each of the four previous occasions the Aprilia rider went on to take the title; Max Biaggi in 1994, 1996 & 1997 and Manuel Poggiali in 2003.

• Hiroshi Aoyama is the first rider ever to start from pole in the class riding a KTM.

• Aoyama has finished on the podium seven times in the first full year for the KTM machine.

• If Jorge Lorenzo wins the title he will become, at the age of 19 years and 178 days, the second youngest 250cc World Champion of all time. Dani Pedrosa was just 160 days younger when he won the title in 2004.

• Lorenzo could take his ninth victory of the year, which would be a new record for a Spanish rider.

• Alex de Angelis has finished on the podium nine times in the last ten races.

• Roberto Locatelli won the 125cc race in Valencia in 2000 on his way to taking the world title.

• If Andrea Dovizioso wins the title he will become, at the age of 20 years and 220 days, the youngest Italian rider ever to become world champion in two classes, taking the record from Valentino Rossi who was 30 days older when he clinched the 250cc crown in 1999.

• For the first time ever in Grand Prix, Spanish riders have qualified in the top three positions.

• Aprilia have taken all four places on the front row for the first time since Valencia 2003.

• Alvaro Bautista starts from pole for the eighth time in 2006.

• Bautista could equal the record for the most wins in a single season in the class by a Spanish rider, which Jorge Martinez set with nine in 1988.

• Hector Faubel has equalled his best ever qualifying result.

• Sergio Gadea is starting from his best grid position since he was on pole here last year.

• Mattia Pasini was the first Aprilia rider across the line last year, in third place.

• Mika Kallio, who won in last year, has been on the podium seven times in the last eight races.

• Pol Espargaro is the youngest rider ever to qualify as high as sixth for a Grand Prix.

• Randy Krummenacher has qualified in tenth place on only his fourth Grand Prix start.

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