ONE MORE SHOT AT HOME GLORYBesides being the final European round of the 1999 season, this Sunday's Community of Valencia Grand Prix is also the last of the three races organized in Spain this year. It will therefore be another very important round for the Repsol Honda team and current World Championship leader Alex Criville. Criville won this year's other two Spanish races, in Jerez and at Barcelona. Two wins which helped shape his current domination of the 500 class and sixty six point lead in the provisional standings table. But with four races left after this weekend's event at Valencia, Criville cannot yet afford to relax. There are still 125 points up for grabs and his rivals are eager to profit from any mistake.
Among the four men who still have a mathematical shot at the title are Crivilléís Repsol Honda team-mates Tadayuki Okada and Sete Gibernau. With two wins to his credit this year, Okada has already shown his determination. The Suzuka Eight Hour winner will not hesitate to make the best of any opportunity, a fact he made very clear when he moved past Criville on the very last lap to take the win at the recent Czech Republic Grand Prix.
As for Sete Gibernau, injury has made his latest races hard work and the Spaniard is eager to get back to the sort of success that saw him complete a Repsol Honda one-two-three at the Catalunya Grand Prix. The three Repsol Honda men will once again have to make do without their illustrious Australian team-mate at Valencia. After undergoing a further operation in America on September 3rd, Mick Doohan has announced that he will not be racing at Valencia or at the following round, in Australia. The five times World Champion is naturally very disappointed to miss his home race, although he will be a spectator at Phillip Island to help promote the event.Alex Criville. "This may well be the hardest race of the year for me. I have to ride with the championship in mind. I just can't afford to mess up an opportunity like this. So I will have to run a thinking man's race. On the other hand, how can I disappoint the huge number of fans that are expected to turn up this Sunday and not give my very best ? I know they're coming to see me win so it will be hard to hold back. So like any other race, I will start out aiming to win. Then, depending on how the race progresses, I may have to adapt my strategy. I have a great team behind me and a winning bike underneath me, so I'm sure the fans will see a winning Alex CrivillÈ this Sunday. It will be a historic race as far as the number of spectators present. The track itself is twisty and difficult. The last time we went there to practice, the track was so dirty that we ended up riding around in a car most of the time. But I'm sure everything will be okay for the race".
Tadayuki Okada. "Imola brought mixed fortunes for me. I was injured in practice and that stopped me from giving my best in the race. At first, I could stay with the leaders no problem. I even took the lead at one stage. But from about half-way, I was too tired to be able to keep to the same pace. After the race, I went back to my home in Monaco to rest and recuperate. Now, we come to the Valencia Grand Prix. It's an extremely important race for me and my team. As always, I will be trying my best. I really want to do well there because it's the last race in Europe before we move on to the last four flyaway races. Also, it's another race in Spain. That gives it extra importance for us as our main sponsor is Spanish. We've already tested twice in Valencia this year. But the last time we went, the conditions prevented us from getting much useful track time. So we'll just have to see how it goes when we start practice on Friday".
Sete Gibernau. "I've been concentrating on getting back to full fitness since the last Grand Prix. There have been marked improvements in my condition over the past fifteen days so even though there my still be some residual pain, I expect to be able to give my best this Sunday. Valencia is a difficult race track. It is probably not perfectly suited to our V4s. But I want to give the spectators as much reason to cheer as they had in Madrid last year or at Jerez and Catalunya this year. I know they will be 100% behind us and I don't want to disappoint them. At the last race, I never quite managed to find the perfect set-up for the bike. But the whole team is working very hard and I will be doing the same so that this time, things can go well".
Mick Doohan. "There is no point in going down to Phillip Island and just riding around. I couldn't do it the way I'd want to, so I just don't want to do it at all. Mentally I know I'd cause myself more injuries trying to do something I physically can't. I just want to get my body back on track. In the big picture we're not looking so bad. The crash was a big impact so it needs a bit more time. I've got to keep pushing the injuries and keep working at them so I can get back on the bike again. But right now, I have no idea when that will be. Winning the race and the championship at Phillip Island last year was one of the highlights of my career so it's disappointing I won't be in this year's race. But I'll be there watching and helping to promote the event. I'm sure it will still be a success".
