Paolo Campinoti – Pramac Racing Team Principal
“I can not hide a bit of sadness for the Qatar results and for this reason I can not wait to return on the track to have a revise. We have seen the potential of the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 Sat, Kallio has obtained the second top speed rate behind the Ducati of Stoner. Great satisfaction also for Espargarň that had improves steadily throughout the race week-end, often times getting very close to the first eight riders. Sure is a bit of regret, but fortunately this job allows you to quickly redeem a loss. Being able to race the second race on Motegi circuit would regain some confidence in our ability, as we have always obtained excellent results on the track. We have won the second race of our history in 2004 with Tamada.”

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider
“The “Zero” attached to my name on the driver’s hits is one thing that I do not like, as I said, this was the worst start of my career. I can not wait to redeem early in the next Spain GP. Jerez is one of my favorites tracks here I had some of the most rewarding moments of my career. On this track, I had won one race in 2008, during my last season of 250cc class, and I also had a second position in 2005 in 125cc class.
Last year, unfortunately I had a bit of inexperience in the third race in MotoGP, I was on a back place in the starting grid and I haven’t finished the race. From Losail’s weekend I’ll say to save the result of the second section of practice where I got the sixth overall time and is from this point that we have to start for the second race of the season.”

Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing rider
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t the debut of my dreams, before the fall I got a good position on the grid and during the race I had a good pace that would allow me to fill the gap I had with the riders in front of me. I know quite well Jerez circuit, here I got a decent ninth place in 2008 when I was riding a 250. Will be a good thing for me to get good feelings with the circuit since the Friday free practice in order to try to improve my lap times.”

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Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing rider – 11th in the race – 20th in the championship
“We can consider ourself satisfied with what we have done today on track. In Indy, in my MotoGP debut, I had to learn everything about my new experience and here we have demonstrated to be able to be competitive. In the first laps I was going really well and at one stage I was part of a group of riders (Vermeulen, Toseland, Melandri and Kallio) who were fighting for the seventh position. After the fifteenth lap I felt again a lot of pain at my right forearm and for me it was impossible to maintain that rhythm. I could manage to brake somehow with the palm of my hand, but I couldn’t’ completely open the throttle and I was losing too much in top speed. A pity. Tomorrow morning in Madrid at 10am I will have surgery so that I can be in top form for my next ride in whatever class it will be. I want to thank the Pramac Racing Team, Paolo Campinoti and Ducati for the fantastic opportunity they gave me to debut in MotoGP with the hope that I didn’t disappoint them.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 13th in the race – 16th in the championship
“At the beginning of the race I went off track in two occasions while I was trying to overtake Talmacsi and this made me lose too much time. Due to these two exits the rear tyre got worse sooner than what we expected and in the end of the race I couldn’t manage to register the lap times I needed. I am really disappointed with this result because I really cared about getting a good result on this track. I want to thank my technicians that have done a really good job.”

CANEPA THIRTEENTH DURING INDIANAPOLIS QUALIFYING SESSION. ESPARGARO SIXTEENTH

The qualifying session took place on a dry track after yesterday’s rain.

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 13th in 1’41.910“Unluckily I made a mistake as I didn’t change the front tyre that already had more than twenty-five laps on it. I wanted to follow someone at the end of the session, but if I had entered the garage I would have lost too much time. Anyway we will start from an acceptable position on the starting grid. I want to do really well here: this is a track that I like and I know I can have fun on it. This will be a really important race for me.”

Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing rider – 16th in 1’42.577
“Today the weather helped us to ride for many laps. My feeling with the bike has improved even if I am not too happy: I hoped to do better in the classification. We have found a problem with the rear brake that has limited our performances. I wanted to ride with faster riders in the last couple of laps but I couldn’t make it. I feel good on the bike and I believe we can have a good race tomorrow. We will have to make a good start to stay with other riders and fight for good positions.”

Aleix, born on July 30th 1989, will become the youngest Spanish rider to debut in MotoGP.

Paolo Campinoti – Pramac Racing Team Principal
“We go in the United States with a new young rider, Aleix Espargaro, who will make his debut in the MotoGP World Championship. We are very happy to have him with us, he has done well in his short career and this year he hasn’t be so lucky remaining without a Team when everybody was already set up. He will become the youngest Spanish rider in the MotoGP class and this underline our project to give the possibility to young riders to show their qualities in the top class of motorcycle road racing. Niccolò will have to do a good race: he has already ridden on this circuit and we believe he will be able to conquer a good result.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider
“It is for me, a true pleasure to come back on this track where last year I spent two days of testing. It is a really nice circuit, fast and technical, and there are some points where you can overtake. During the Brno test we found some really interesting solutions and they should give us some help for this race, so it’s important for my season and my future.”

Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing rider
“I have trained a lot during this period waiting for a call, but I would have never thought about racing in the top class: it will be for me a true honor ride for such a prestigious company as Ducati. I have to thanks Pramac Racing who have chosen me and believe in my qualities. This season, after the unlucky events of the beginning of the season, I made it to race in the 250cc class in two occasions, Assen and Sachsenring, taking respectively the fourth and the seventh position. Of course I cannot expect similar results in MotoGP, but I will do my best to payback the trust that the Team has given me.”

Mattia Pasini had a positive debut on the Pramac Racing Desmosedici GP9 Sat on the Brno circuit in Czech Republic. The day of testing started around 9am and concluded at 6pm, but was interrupted by heavy rain for a couple of hours around lunch-time. Mattia Pasini managed an impressive total of 66 laps during the test session. Niccolò Canepa managed to improve his lap times from yesterday’s race.

Paolo Campinoti – Pramac Racing Team Principal
“It’s a pity that rain limited the time at Mattia Pasini’s disposal, otherwise I am convinced that he could have sensibly improved his fastest lap time of the day. Anyway we are satisfied on how things went. We all know how hard it is to jump on a MotoGP bike and get used to it. Sincere compliments to Pasini: he is a guy who never gives up, tenacious and he deserved this opportunity even if we are sorry that he will not be able to ride with us in the next couple of races.”

Niccolò Canepa – Best lap time in 1’58.120
“In these four days at Brno the only day that didn’t go well was the race day. Today things were back to normal and I was riding on good lap times, really close to much more experienced riders than me. It’s a pity because if I would have maintained this rhythm also yesterday I could have fought for much better positions. Now we have some days of relaxation to be back in full shape at Indianapolis, a track that I like really much.”

Mattia Pasini – Best lap time in 1’59.614
“First of all I have to thanks Pramac and the Team Principal Paolo Campinoti, Ducati and all the people that allowed me to compete with the best riders in the world today. Thanks so much ! It has been a sensational feeling to go so fast. I went from going 255 km/h on my 250cc yesterday, to over 300 km/h (305 km/h) today on the Ducati Pramac Racing bike. During the morning I had to adjust to the bike, but from the afternoon, after the heavy rain that has unluckily limited our learning procedure, I felt at ease and I could push much more. It is a really spectacular bike to ride with an incredible power. It doesn’t seem so complicated to ride like I heard; on the contrary, it is really comfortable. The biggest different I found compared to my actual bike are the carbon brakes, which have a totally different reaction compared to mine. Overall I am very satisfied on how things went today. Now I will have to concentrate to my 250cc championship as I still have the possibility to aim for the title.”

Basically Niccolò Canepa was consistent by dropping in another disappointing performance on race day, and Michel Fabrizio who was drafted in to replace Mika Kallio was clearly not race fit and shouldn’t have been out there at all.

Marco Rigamonti – Niccolò Canepa Track Engineer
“On Friday and Saturday things seems to go in the right direction, but during today’s race we have obtained the worst results of the weekend. It’s a pity because Niccolò was doing a great job. In the second half of the race, due to the high temperatures, Niccolò has lost a bit of feeling with the rear and this has limited his performances. We are really sorry about this as we were doing a good race. We hope that his physical condition are not so bad and that he will be able to continue his championship without complications.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 12th in the race – 16th in the Championship
“I was ready to have a good race but today nothing went in the right direction for us. After Friday and Saturday’s sessions I was trustful and concentrated to have a good race but in the second part of the race I lost some grip with the rear. It was a bit warmer compare to yesterday and this has caused us some problems. We believe to be able to do much better in Indianapolis in fourteen days on a track that I really like.”

Michel Fabrizio – Pramac Racing rider – DNF
“There isn’t much to say today. After some laps I felt more and more pain on the right shoulder injured on Friday and I couldn’t almost use the brake anymore. I had to stop otherwise I would have risk to fall. I torn the right shoulder muscle and it seem to have a golf ball under the skin. I am sorry for the Pramac Racing Team that gave me this opportunity.”

The recent news of Casey Stoner’s withdrawal from the next 3 rounds of MotoGP sees Mika Kallio get the chance to prove himself on the factory Ducati and go head to head with Nicky Hayden.

Michel Fabrizio will take Mika Kallio’s position for the next three races, and for the Italian rider, the Czech Republic circuit is one of his favorites and he will try to achieve a good result.

Paolo Campinoti – Pramac Racing Team Principal
“As soon as we found out that Casey wouldn’t ride for the next three races in Brno, Indianapolis and Misano, together with Ducati Corse managerial staff we decided that our rider Mika Kallio would have ridden with the Ducati official Team after the good results achieved with us. As consequence we were looking for a valid substitute of the Finnish rider and Ducati proposal Michel Fabrizio as the optimal choice. The roman rider, even if still young, has a great experience and we believe he can get good results.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing
“Summer break was really useful to reenergize and forget all the small physical problems I had. I am back in full shape and motivated to continue my learning procedure to be able to obtain some more good results like it happened in Donington when I finished in eighth position. With the bike the feeling is improving race after race, and I believe in Brno I can do well. It is a track where I have already ridden in the past in various occasion and I like it a lot.”

Michel Fabrizio – Pramac Racing
“I want to thank Ducati and Pramac for this gift! Brno is my favorite track and therefore the right place to come back riding a MotoGP 800 after the last time at Sachsenring 2007. I know that I can’t expect a lot because the GP9 is much different compare to my 1198 F09. The priority is to have some fun and enjoy a different weekend for me! All the best to Casey – wishing him back in top form as soon as possible!”

Pramac Racing riders, Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa, have lived different situation at the Sachsenring circuit last Sunday, but now everything is in the past and the white and red duo is ready for another weekend of racing at Donington. It will be the last time here, at least for the next years to come; in fact, from next season the MotoGP World Championship will move to Silverstone for the British round. Donington circuit is one of the oldest included in the MotoGP 2009 calendar. Mika Kallio has made it to step on its podium three times in his still short career: twice on the second step behind Bautista in the 125cc class in 2006 and 2005, and once in first position in 250cc last season in front of Simoncelli and Bautista. Also Niccolò did take some satisfactions on this circuit winning his first race here when he was riding in Superstock 1000cc in 2007. The circuit is 4023 meters long and present 7 right turns and 4 left turns.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director

“In this world if you win or lose a race after only a few minutes you have to concentrate immediately to the next appointment. In Donington we will step on track even more determined after the bad luck we had in Sachsenring. Mika has done a really positive weekend notwithstanding his left ring finger was badly injured and now he will be even more motivated. The situation in general has improved a lot for us after Barcelona test when we received new parts from Ducati. The bike is more manageable and I think that results demonstrated it. Niccolò is growing race by race and this show he has great talent. In Germany, after the hard hit of qualifying session, he made it to step on his bike for the race and achieve a good result and we therefore hope he can do even better in Donington on a track where he has already won in the past.”

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider

“If I can be honest I was really mad after the German race. I was ready, motivated and even if I had a lot of pain at the left hand I knew I could have done a good race. We cannot accuse anybody because we know how the racing world is: everyone can make mistakes. For the British Grand Prix we will have to maintain the same level of concentration of the past weekend: with my technical staff we have worked very well and I am convinced that we can do the same in Donington. We know our true value and we will do all possible to show it on track. Here I have achieved some satisfaction in the past in the lower classes and I now I want to achieve some too in the top class.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider

“The German race can be considered the starting point of my season. I didn’t know the track and even if I was in a lot of pain after Saturday’s accident I have done a good performance. I have ridden in the past at Donington and I also won: for sure now it’s not possible, but I will do everything I can to conquer a good result. Climatic condition in England are unpredictable, but in Germany we demonstrated that we can be competitive on any track conditions.”

After the absence due to injury of Mika Kallio in the American Grand Prix of last 5th of July, the Pramac Racing Team is back with full line up for the German GP with both riders ready to battle on the Sachsenring track. The circuit, situated about 100km from Dresden, is the second shortest of the MotoGP World Championship after Laguna Seca and the insidious turns and the various changes of direction make it one of the slowest as well. Mika Kallio really likes the German circuit and considers it his favorite. In the last few years the Finnish riders made it to step on the podium in Germany in two occasions: second in 2007 in the 250 class after starting from pole position and on the highest step of the podium in 2005 in the 125cc class. For his teammate, Niccolò Canepa, it will be the first time at the Sachsenring. The Genovese rider, as it already happen in some occasion this year, will try to know the new track in the shortest time possible to result competitive in the race.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Team Technical Director

“It is so nice to have Mika back with us. We really miss him in America, but I am still convinced that we took the right decision by leaving him at home for one weekend to recover in the best way possible and don’t ruin the rest of the season. It is from the beginning of the season that Mika tells me this is one of his favorite track, if not the favorite, this is why we expect a lot here. For sure it will not be easy due to the injury, but we believe that Mika will almost be in the best physical condition possible to compete at the maximum level. For Niccolò it will not be easy as this is another unknown track for him: we will try everything to make him learn the secrets of this track in the shortest time possible.”

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team rider

“It is so nice to be back. I can’t wait to step back on my Ducati Desmosedici GP9 Sat. The situation with my left ring finger has improved a lor and I feel ready to ride. I would say I am at 90% of my physical condition. I will have to wear a special glove made by Alpinestar with much more space for my left ring finger due to big bendage I have on it. For sure in the next few weeks I will not be able to get married as the ring would never fit with my actual conditions of the ring finger. This circuit is very nice, I found my self at ease since the first few race. In 2005 I stepped on the highest step of the 125cc podium and in 2007, after starting from pole position, I finished second in the 250cc class.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing Team rider

“Today I have trained a bit with a Kart race organize by Dorna which I enjoyed a lot. I am very concentrated; it will be a difficult weekend for me at the Sachsenring, as I don’t the track. I will start with a small handicap compare the other riders, but I believe I can learn the track in the first two free practices to result more competitive from qualifying session. Luckily after this race there will only be Australia that I still don’t know.”