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During the Fiat
Yamaha Team's visit to Laguna Seca in
California a week and a half ago for the
last round of the MotoGP World Championship
Jorge Lorenzo tried out the Fiat 500. |
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After their American foray to Laguna
Seca just ten days ago, the Fiat Yamaha Team is preparing
for a return to European shores with the first of a
double-header of races this weekend at the Sachsenring in
Germany. It will be the start of a tough fortnight for the
riders, with this race followed immediately by the British
Grand Prix at Donington. Now at its halfway point, the
MotoGP World Championship remains tight at the top but Fiat
Yamaha continues to lead the way with Valentino Rossi nine
points ahead of 22-year-old team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who in
turn holds an advantage of seven points over Casey Stoner.
The wooded hills of the Sachsenring have produced some
stunning racing over recent years, not least in 2006 when
Rossi started from 10th to produce a master class of
overtaking and lead home the closest ever finish in MotoGP,
with the top four separated by just 0.307 seconds. The
30-year-old has three other wins at the German track and
last year finished an important second in torrential rain as
several riders slid out. With three wins under his belt so
far this season he will be hoping for career victory number
101 this weekend, as he looks to extend his lead at the top
of the standings and give himself some breathing space as
the paddock goes into its summer break in two week’s time.
Mallorcan-born Lorenzo put up a brilliant performance last
time out in the States to finish third after a crash in
qualifying left him with a separated shoulder and a badly
bruised foot. A week of rest at home in Barcelona has left
him in better shape and, while he does not expect to be back
to full fitness this weekend, he is confident that with the
help of the Mobile Clinic he will be able to play a major
part in the weekend’s proceedings. Last year he slid out
early on in the rain-struck race and with only one previous
podium at the Sachsenring to his name, he will be looking to
improve his German record this weekend with a trip to the
podium despite his injuries.
Located in the heartland of the former East Germany’s once
illustrious motorcycle racing industry, the Sachsenring is
built right next to the old road course, a characteristic
the track shares with Brno in the nearby Czech Republic,
which the paddock will visit in mid August. It is the second
shortest track on the calendar and features a series of
tight and relatively slow corners mixed in with some
dazzlingly fast ones – including a stomach-churning downhill
right hander which was added in 2003.
Valentino
Rossi - "Rested and recharged"
“Thank goodness we’ve had some time to rest after the
last two races because I was really quite tired after
Laguna! The next two races are back to back and again it
will be very hard, and it’s also a very important stage
of the championship, the halfway point. Sachsenring
isn’t one of my favourite tracks but I’ve had some great
races there and generally it suits Yamaha well, which is
good. We need another good result to keep our lead
because our rivals are so strong and we can’t afford to
make any mistakes. Last year there was a lot of rain in
Germany but in fact we were able to take a great second
place. I hope this year we can go one better.”
Jorge Lorenzo - "In better shape"
“Germany is one of the circuits where I’ve never done
particularly well, in fact I’ve only had one podium
there, in 2006 when I was third in 250cc. Last year it
rained a lot and unfortunately I fell on the third lap,
so it wasn’t a weekend to remember but I hope this one
will be very different. Following my injuries in Laguna
Seca, I am feeling a lot better after a week of rest but
I won’t be at 100% this weekend; I have some pain in my
foot when walking and also in my shoulder joint, so the
first thing I will do when I get to Sachsenring is go to
the Clinica Mobile! My aim as ever this weekend is to be
on the podium and to try to get as many points as
possible compared to the rivals that are in front of
me.”
Davide Brivio - "A positive moment"
“Sachsenring isn’t one of our favourites but we’re going
there after good results in the last few races and we’re
enjoying a positive moment so hopefully we can continue
the momentum this weekend. As always our first target is
the podium and we’ve achieved this at all but one race
this season so we will look to continue that trend! Last
year it was very wet in Germany but we were able to take
an important second place, which gave Valentino key
points for his championship battle. This time we arrive
in the lead but we have to maintain focus because these
are two very important races before the summer break and
it’s important to everyone that we go into the ‘holiday’
at the top.”
Daniele Romagnoli - "An exciting stage"
“We’re happy to report that Jorge’s condition is a lot
better after a week of rest. He won’t be in perfect
condition but he will be a lot stronger and therefore
able to push harder on the bike this weekend than he
could in Laguna. In America Jorge showed once again that
he has a great determination to achieve his potential
whatever condition he is in and so we hope that in
Germany we can be in good shape once again, be at the
front and fight for the podium. We need to try to
recover some points as we look to the summer break. It’s
an exciting stage of the championship and everyone is
dedicated to our goal and working very hard.”
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