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Valentino Rossi’s resounding victory at
Motegi (above), combined with fourth place
for his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and top ten
finishes for satellite riders James Toseland
and Colin Edwards, has secured every major
honour available for the Japanese factory,
with Lorenzo odds-on to secure the Rookie of
the Year title over the remaining three
rounds. |
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The Fiat Yamaha Team make a triumphant return to
Australia this week with the triple crown of riders’,
teams’ and constructors’ titles already in the bag, one
year after arriving at Phillip Island in very different
shape. Valentino Rossi’s resounding victory at Motegi,
combined with fourth place for his team-mate Jorge
Lorenzo and top ten finishes for satellite riders James
Toseland and Colin Edwards, has secured every major
honour available for the Japanese factory, with Lorenzo
odds-on to secure the Rookie of the Year title over the
remaining three rounds.
Despite a season of record-breaking success, Rossi heads
to one of his favourite circuits with his instinctive
will to win still intact as he looks to settle a score
in front of his Australian fans. Over almost a decade of
racing at Phillip Island Rossi made it ‘his’ circuit,
with nine podiums in all classes including two 250cc
wins and an unbeaten five-year streak in MotoGP that
included title-clinching victories in 2001 and 2004.
However, he has not won there for the past two seasons
and he is determined to end that run in the next stage
of his quest to equal his record of eleven victories in
a single season, set with Yamaha in 2005.
Whilst the most important championship position may have
been decided for 2008, Jorge Lorenzo still has a
mathematical chance of clinching the runner-up spot,
with 51 points separating him from the incumbent Casey
Stoner. It is an unlikely target for the rookie although
he will approach the final three races with relish
having found top form on his Yamaha M1 in both wet and
dry conditions recently. The Mallorcan has taken victory
in Australia for the past two seasons in the 250cc class
and having already tasted the winners’ champagne in
MotoGP he is desperate to do so again before the season
is out.
The breathtaking scenery of Phillip Island always puts
the bike and riders to the sternest of tests, with its
sweeping and flowing nature making for the ultimate
challenge of machine control and throttle accuracy, not
to mention the sheer bravery required from the rider.
The track’s exposed location on the cliffs facing the
Bass Strait makes for changeable weather, with early
forecasts predicting rain for Friday and Saturday but
dry, partly sunny conditions for Sunday.
Valentino Rossi
“So it’s been a couple of days and I am starting to get
used to being world champion again; it is a truly
wonderful feeling! On Sunday we had a great party with
my team and my friends who had come out to the race, and
then on Monday we were meant to test some things for the
2009 bike but the rain came and we had to cancel it.
Actually I was quite disappointed because I was looking
forward to seeing what we had, but now we will wait to
Valencia. Anyway, now we have three more races, at
tracks which I love, and I am so excited to be able to
just have fun at all of them. As everyone knows Phillip
Island is one of my favourite tracks, maybe the best of
all, and it’s an incredible feeling to race there. I
have won there so many times in my career and losing for
the last two years has made me sad so now I have one aim
– to win! It’s a special place, the fans are always
fantastic and it’s the home race for four of my team so
I want to do it for them to thank them for their work
this year.”
Jorge Lorenzo
“I love Australia and I am very happy to be spending a
couple of days in Melbourne before I go to Phillip
Island, a city I fell in love with the first time I came
here. Phillip Island is one of my favourite tracks and I
can’t wait to ride my M1 there. It’s a place like no
other and the only place we go where you can see the sea
as you ride! I have won there the last two years in 250
and now I am excited to have the chance to race MotoGP
there. I am determined to get on the podium because the
fans always come onto the track after the race and it’s
an incredible sight! We have had three good races in a
row, even if we just missed the podium on Sunday, and I
am determined to keep this up to the end of the season
and, hopefully, go one better.”
Davide Brivio (Team Manager, Rossi)
“For the last three races we can take a new approach to
racing, because we’re going for the fun of it and to try
to win again. That’s the way we look at this weekend so
we’ll see how it turns out. It would be nice to win at
Phillip Island because it’s a great track, Valentino
loves it and we have some good memories from there. It
has not been very good for us for the last couple of
years, ibut hopefully we can change that on Sunday. I
think Valentino rides better without pressure because he
is riding purely for fun and that is his main motivation
for racing. It should be a great race.”
Daniele Romagnoli (Team Manager, Lorenzo)
“Confidence is really high in our side of the garage,
especially after the last few races. Jorge is back in
shape, you can definitely say that! He rode extremely
well at Motegi and his performance in qualifying showed
how confident he is with the qualifying tyre, even
though we had some issues with the front tyre in the
race. We were a tiny bit disappointed not to be on the
podium but Phillip Island is another story – it’s a
completely different layout, it suits Jorge’s riding
style and I think he won there last year by almost
twenty seconds from the next rider so there is no reason
why he won’t be strong again. We’re not really thinking
about making the top three in the championship; that is
not what is important for us this year. What is
important is to be on the front row, on the podium and
riding close to the leaders like we did at Motegi.”
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