MOVISTAR YAMAHA MAKE READY FOR FINAL 2017 MOTOGP RACE
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi are on their way to the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo for the final MotoGP showdown, the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, held this weekend.
Valencia (Spain), 8th November 2017
The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi return to Spain for Sunday’s 2017 MotoGP World Championship finale, the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana.
Viñales arrives in his home country determined to fight for a podium spot. Having secured third place in the championship at the previous round at the Sepang International Circuit a fortnight ago, he focuses on wrapping up the season in the best way possible this weekend.
The Ricardo Tormo circuit was the scene of some great moments for the home hero. He stood on the podium in Valencia twice, having secured victory in his first 125cc race there in 2011, as well as in 2013, when he again was the first rider to reach the chequered flag in the Moto3 class, earning him the World Championship Title. His best MotoGP finish was last year, when he took fifth place.
After three intense race weekends overseas, Rossi enters the final round determined to keep hold of fourth place in the championship rankings. He has a 12-point advantage over his closest rival and will push to the maximum to further increase it in the 2017 Grand Finale.
Out of the 17 premier class races that the nine-time World Champion took part in at the Ricardo Tormo track so far, he has taken two MotoGP wins, in 2003 and 2004, and he stood on the podium eight times in total, having secured second places in 2002, 2009 and 2014 and third places in 2005, 2008 and 2010.
The 4.0 km long Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo was completed in 1999 and was immediately added to the MotoGP calendar for that same year. The twisty track lay-out (featuring nine left and five right corners and an 876 m longest straight) is challenging for both man and machine, but beloved by many riders as well as the fans. The stadium offers spectators a perfect view of all parts of the circuit from every stand, so they won‘t miss any of the action as the MotoGP season comes to a close.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
After the triple header overseas the team had a few days to catch their breath before the final race of the season. We’re all looking forward to the Valencia Grand Prix. The atmosphere at the last round is always special: one season ends and immediately after the next one begins. We’re arriving in Spain with the goal to not only end the season with a positive result, but we also want to start working for next year. There‘s a busy week ahead of us and we are impatient to get started.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP RIDER
I arrive in Valencia in a very positive mood. After the last three races in Asia and Oceania I’ve spent some time at home, training and relaxing. The Ricardo Tormo Circuit is a track that I really like, it has a lay-out that suits my riding style very well. We expect nice weather for the entire week, so I will try to push and give my 100% to finish the season with a nice podium at the last round. We are already focused on the next season and we also want to work hard during the test next week.
VALENTINO ROSSI
MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP RIDER
The last race of the season has come. It wasn’t an exciting end of the season for us, but during the three races overseas we’ve got some more data for our bike and we’ve always been fine on the dry. We hope that there will be good weather in Valencia to work in the best way. We are not fighting for the championship this weekend, but we will try to make it a good race anyway, and we will try to use next week’s two-day test to start working on the 2018 season.