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The Fiat Yamaha Team contest their second
‘home’ race of the season this weekend, with
the San Marino Grand Prix taking place on
Italian soil at the Misano circuit on the
Adriatic coast. |
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The Fiat Yamaha Team contest their second ‘home’ race of
the season this weekend, with the San Marino Grand Prix
taking place on Italian soil at the Misano circuit on
the Adriatic coast. The trip is a short one for the
team, whose base is just 300km away in Milan, but even
shorter for Valentino Rossi, with his hometown of
Tavullia located a mere 15km down the road.
The multi-World Champion heads to the thirteenth round
of the current MotoGP series with his sights firmly set
on a sixth premier-class title after extending his
advantage over Casey Stoner to 50 points in the last
round at Brno. Having missed out on the title for the
past two seasons following a five-year winning streak,
Rossi’s improvement is outlined by the fact that a
fifth-place finish this Sunday will see him outscore his
tally for either of those campaigns.
The 29-year-old’s army of local supporters are sure to
be in party mood at the lively seaside resort as he
looks to make up for the disappointment of a mechanical
breakdown in this race last year and score three
consecutive wins for the second time this season. Also
within Rossi’s range is the all-time record for
premier-class victories, set at 68 by Giacomo Agostini
back in 1976.
Jorge Lorenzo continues his Grand Prix education at full
fitness after a troublesome period of injury and tyre
woes. The rookie from Mallorca won the 250cc race at
Misano last year after having qualified on pole and he
will be looking to support Rossi in the quest to improve
on Yamaha’s total of 283 points in last year’s
Constructors’ World Championship, which will be secured
if any of the factory’s riders finish in the top two.
Valentino
Rossi
“I’m really
excited to be going to Misano in such good shape and
leading the championship. Last year the race was a huge
disappointment for us, a very low point of the season
and especially sad because it happened in front of my
home fans. But this time things are very different;
we’ve had two fantastic races in a row and we are
feeling very strong and very confident. We are out to
make up for 2007! Misano is so close to my home town of
Tavullia that I know there will be an army of Italian
fans there, and I hope it’s going to be a great party
for all of them. Last year there was some terrible
weather before the race as well so I really hope that
this year we have sunshine and we can enjoy a fantastic
race by the sea!”
Jorge
Lorenzo
“After the
disaster of Brno I’m going to Misano with the belief and
the will that everything goes much better and that we’re
able to score a positive result in my team’s second home
Grand Prix. I’m riding well at the moment and in the
post-race test in the Czech Republic we were able to
shave off a few tenths that will be vital for the next
GP. Misano is a small track for MotoGP but it is safe.
Last year I won in 250cc so my only memories of it are
good ones!”
Davide
Brivio
“Last year
we arrived in Misano with a 60-point disadvantage to
Stoner and now we are 50 ahead so the situation is
completely reversed and obviously that’s great for us.
Having said that, we still have six difficult races left
and there are circuits coming up where we know our
rivals will be very strong. Misano is one of the places
where last year we were not so bad so it could be one of
the places we can fight. It is difficult to overtake but
I expect and hope for another good show. Valentino’s
targets haven’t changed since the start of the season –
the first priority is to be on the podium, which is even
more crucial at this stage, and when possible fight to
win. Those objectives remains the same regardless of the
points situation.”
Daniele
Romagnoli
“We go to
Misano in good spirits but knowing that we can’t afford
a repeat of the last two races, where our performance
has been completely dictated by the tyres – especially
Brno. Hopefully Misano will be another story because
it’s a completely different kind of circuit. It is not
as fast, it is flat, and last year Michelin were
competitive there. We did a lot of work on the tyres in
the test at Brno and found something with durability on
the front and a solution for the rear that helps under
acceleration. Hopefully we can carry those improvements
through to this weekend because Jorge is riding well,
this is a circuit he likes and we saw earlier in the
season what he is capable of if he has the necessary
tools.”
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