Gerno di Lesmo (Italy), 13th August 2014
Fresh from an impressive ride at the Indianapolis Grand Prix last weekend that delivered a double podium, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team head to Brno this weekend for Sunday’s Grand Prix of the Czech Republic.
Valentino Rossi arrives in Brno in confident mood after a strong performance in Indianapolis that saw him leading the race in the early laps and ultimately taking a third place podium finish. The Italian nine-time world champion has a stunning record in Brno, claiming a 125cc race win in 1996, a 250cc win in 1999 and one 500cc victory in 2001. In the modern MotoGP era Rossi also counts premier class Brno victories in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009.
Jorge Lorenzo arrives in Brno with his confidence and fitness both back at peak levels. His performance in Indianapolis firmly re-established the four-time world champion as a key protagonist with a second place finish on the podium. Lorenzo also has a strong record at Brno, claiming one 125cc victory in 2004, two 250cc victories in 2006 and 2007 and a maiden GP win in 2010. Lorenzo missed out on victory by just 0.178 seconds after a stunning duel with Dani Pedrosa in 2012 and continued his Czech podium run with third place last year.
Valentino Rossi
“I really like the Brno circuit. In the past I really did good races although in the last couple of years I’ve not had a great performance there. In Czech Republic we will have to repeat what we did in Indianapolis; concentrate, study corner by corner in every practice and do the maximum to fight with Marc and Jorge. It would be great to return to the podium there.”
Jorge Lorenzo
“I think Brno could be good for us like in Mugello or Montmeló. It will be difficult because Marc is pretty constant in all the tracks. We have improved a lot from Barcelona and we found some little things that permit us to be more constant and competitive as well. Physically I feel already in a good shape and I can keep a good pace during the race. Maybe in Brno with this bike we can fight for the win but to be more competitive in all the tracks we need more efforts to get some more tenths. Anyway I’m happy after the race at Indy and we will keep fighting until the end.”
Massimo Meregalli
“We are all excited to be back in Europe after a great performance in Indianapolis. Both Vale and Jorge are in very competitive shape and we know that Brno is a track that can suit us pretty well so we want to get to Friday and begin to work as soon as possible.”