MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP KEEN TO BEGIN BRITISH GP BATTLE

Silverstone (UK), 21st August 2019

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales are preparing to push 100% at the GoPro British Grand Prix this weekend.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales are making their way to the Silverstone Circuit for Round 12 of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, held this weekend.

Both riders look forward to riding at the GoPro British Grand Prix, as the track‘s fast sweeping corners are well suited to their YZR-M1s. Bearing in mind that they were unable to ride there on the Sunday last year because of track safety concerns, the team-mates arrive at the circuit feeling extra motivated to give the British crowds a race to remember.

Rossi has stood on the Silverstone podium four times since the round was added to the racing calendar in 2010. He missed out on the first edition due to injury but made up for it by getting familiar with the Silverstone rostrum in the following years.

The Doctor secured a MotoGP third place in 2014, and followed it up with a superb win in 2015, adding two further third places in 2016 and 2017. Unable to extend his podium streak last year, the Italian is keen to be in the mix for the win again at the British GP this weekend to enjoy the view from the rostrum and reduce the 21-point gap to fourth in the championship standings, as he currently holds fifth position.

Viñales holds sixth place in the overall rankings, one point behind Rossi, and is feeling optimistic he can reverse their roles this weekend. He is a fan of the Silverstone Circuit and has expressed that he is looking forward to this round in particular.

The statistics back up his claim that the UK is a particularly successful podium hunting ground for him. The Spaniard secured a Moto3 class victory at Silverstone in 2012, a third place in the Moto2 class in 2014, and his first ever MotoGP victory in 2016. When he joined Yamaha in 2017, Viñales landed a double podium for the Factory Yamaha team, taking second place before his team-mate who finished third. This year he has his eyes fixed on the rostrum again and will be pushing 100% to make it happen.

Silverstone has a prestigious racing history and was added to the MotoGP calendar in 2010. Thanks to innovations and investments the circuit became one of the fastest tracks on the calendar and earned high praise from the riders. Their enthusiasm is matched by the local fans‘ passion for racing. They give the weekend an incredible atmosphere, making the British Grand Prix a must-be-at event.

Silverstone is situated in a different time zone, so the schedule of the British GP will differ slightly from the usual Central European Grand Prix timetable. The FP1 and FP2 sessions will take place on Friday from 09:55 – 10:40 and 14:10 – 14:55 local track time (GMT+1). On Saturday FP3 will be held from 09:55 – 10:40, followed by FP4, Q1 and Q2 in the afternoon at 13:30 – 14:00, 14:10 – 14:25 and 14:35 – 14:50. On Sunday the Warm Up will be staged at 09:30 – 09:50 and the race is scheduled to start at 13:00.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

“We‘ve had a busy start to the second half of the season but wrapped up the back-to-back race weekend that also included a test with some good pace. We saw positive progress, so now we are ready for Silverstone. Last year we didn‘t get to race at this round due to weather conditions and safety concerns, and this makes our riders and the team all the more eager to give the local fans a good show this weekend. Maverick is known to be a fan of Silverstone and Vale is also strong at this track. The circuit‘s lay-out with sweeping lines suits our bike. Let’s see if the new tarmac will provide good grip and if the circuit has been able to fix the bumps that the F1 drivers pointed out in certain places after they raced there earlier this year. The team is feeling very motivated, so we are ready to start the British GP.”

VALENTINO ROSSI

“I love Silverstone, it‘s in my top 5 of favourite tracks. I like it a lot because it‘s an old-style track. It‘s very long, riding a lap is like taking a trip from one place to another, and it‘s technical – it has everything. When you‘re fast, it‘s a great pleasure to ride there. I have good memories of this circuit, but everything depends on the weather. Riding at Silverstone in difficult weather is scary because you‘re going so fast, so we‘re hoping for similar weather to what we had in 2017, when we had a good weekend. To be fast here you need a good feeling and stability. Even in the hairpins you have fast points and there are also a lot of long turns, so it‘s a track where usually Yamaha is fast. We hope for good weather because last year was a nightmare, so we hope that this year it will be a good weekend, also for the fans.”

MAVERICK VIÑALES

“Silverstone is a track I really like, and I will try to do my best from the first lap. It‘s a track to be in the front from the beginning, so I will push at my maximum all the way throughout the weekend. In Silverstone I got my first victory in MotoGP, so I have good memories there. I think it‘s a track that can be very favourable to our bike, and we can be competitive also because of the new asphalt. We are expecting better grip and that is definitely something that will work to our advantage. We are also hoping to have good weather for this weekend. Our goal remains the same: to be the first Yamaha always in the final classification.”