Jerez : Camel Yamaha - Preview
The Camel Yamaha Team returns to southern Spain next weekend to begin the defence of its MotoGP World Championship titles.
With Valentino Rossi taking the riders` crown for the fifth successive season, adding to both the team and manufacturers` titles in the year of Yamaha`s 50th Anniversary, the factory outfit faces a tough challenge to live up to its 2005 success but the team is approaching the new campaign with optimism and fresh motivation.

This will be the 20th consecutive Grand Prix at Jerez since the circuit was first used in 1987 - Assen and Donington are the only other current venues boasting a longer association with the series - and this year`s opening round sees Rossi hunting for his seventh win there in all classes. Victory next Sunday would be his fifth in the premier-class and make him the most successful MotoGP rider ever at Jerez; with one more win than the legendary Mick Doohan.

Colin Edwards has enjoyed limited success at the Andalucian track since racing there for the first time in 2003. His best result is a seventh-place finish two years ago but an encouraging pre-season with the 2006 version YZR-M1 has given the `Texas Tornado` realistic hopes of producing his best form this time around.

With few hard braking points and little opportunity to fully open the throttle, the key to Jerez is about the rider`s skill in picking the most effective racing line. The 4.423km track features five left and eight right hand corners with regular and quick changes in direction, meaning that the rider requires a responsive overall package and, above all, precise chassis set-up.

"The most important and difficult aspect of set-up at Jerez is the chassis," explains Daniele Romagnoli, Chief Mechanic to Colin Edwards. "It is a particular circuit because the bike spends a lot of time at maximum lean and there are very few points that require maximum throttle, so the engine and the gearbox settings are not as important here as they are at other tracks. There are many high-speed corners with fast entry so the chassis has to be good, as do the suspension and the tyres. The riders need good grip at maximum lean so we work on the weight balance, spring rates and finding a good tyre."

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