The Italian based Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team looks forward to arriving at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for what can be considered their second home race of the season.

Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi perfectly mastered the rain conditions at Silverstone two weeks ago and arrives at his home GP leading the championship by 12 points. He has yet to finish off the podium this year and is up for the challenge of repeating his sensational victory from last year in San Marino this weekend. In previous years the Doctor has stood on the podium at this track several times, scoring two premier class MotoGP victories in 2008 and 2009, a third place in 2010 and second place in 2012.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo had a more challenging outing on English soil and is hungry to return to the podium as he chases his teammate in the title challenge. The Majorcan is known to be strong in San Marino and has stood on top of the podium every year since the track was added to the MotoGP calendar in 2007. He has three wins in the MotoGP premier class at this circuit in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and has taken four second-place finishes in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014.

The race in Misano is a race fans‘ favourite, not only because of its fast and flowing layout, but also because of its location. As the track is just 20 minutes down the road from Rossi‘s home in Tavullia, many fans make a small pilgrimage before the race forming a river of yellow streaming towards the 4.2 km long track.

The circuit can hold a maximum capacity of 60,000 spectators, who can see the riders travel clockwise since a radical renovation took place before 2007 to meet MotoGP‘s safety regulations. During the upgrade the circuit was also enhanced with a new pit lane and a new chicane. These improvements not only made the track safer, but also increase the race excitement as the numerous fast corners give many overtaking possibilities.

VALENTINO ROSSI

We now arrive in Misano and there will be a lot of pressure on me, especially from the fans, friends and family that are coming, but I like this track a lot. There is always a great atmosphere in Misano and it‘s really my home race, because the track is only 10km away from Tavullia. Last year I rode a great race, but at the same time Jorge is also very fast there, so it will be another great fight. I‘ll have to manage the situation in the right way. It will be difficult, but the most important thing is that this is a place where I‘m able to go fast and where Yamaha is usually very strong.

JORGE LORENZO

Silverstone didn‘t go as we expected due to the weather conditions. We tried all we could to stay on the podium but unfortunately we couldn‘t get the pace to stay in front and finally we had some problems beyond our control, prohibiting us to keep up the fight until the end as well. Now I‘m focused on the race at Misano because it‘s a special track for us and for Yamaha. I know Valentino will feel good because it‘s his home Grand Prix, but in the past I‘ve always been quite fast there and achieved several victories so let‘s see what happens. My teammate has a gap of 12 points in the championship but there are still six races left so there are still enough points up for grabs. I‘m going to push to the maximum in every race starting in Misano.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Now we‘re heading to San Marino, which is sort of our second home Grand Prix. We are happy to leave the challenging conditions of Silverstone behind us and arrive at Misano with the same confident mood as we had at all races. Vale and Jorge are both in great physical shape and have a very competitive level at this track. The team has also done a great job at every race so far and is working very well. Yamaha has scored four consecutive victories at Misano in the last four years, so we feel greatly motivated to add more top results to the list this weekend and we look forward to start working on Friday.