The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team head to Brno for round ten of the World Championship, and neither rider can wait to get back into action.
Maverick Viñales heads to the Czech Grand Prix in second place in the overall standings, just five points behind Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, who leads the championship for the first time this season. Vinales’ best finish on a MotoGP bike is ninth, but did secure a podium in 2013 while racing in the Moto3 World Championship. But now he’s on a factory Yamaha, there’s no doubt that he can smash his best finish of ninth and finish on the podium.
“I’ve enjoyed the summer break a lot.” said Viñales. “I spent it with friends and family, but now I can’t wait to be back aboard my Yamaha YZR-M1 again.
“We have to be focused on the second half of the season as it is going to be crucial if we want to fight for the championship title.
“There is no room for mistakes. I’ve been training during these weeks to be ready for Brno and Austria, two tracks that I really like and where I think that I can be strong.”
His team mate Valentino Rossi currently sits in fourth place overall, only ten points behind the championship leader. He took his first ever 125cc win at the Czech track back in 1996, and followed this up three years later with a 250cc victory in 1999.
Since then, he’s taken a 500cc victory in 2001 and modern era premier class wins in Brno in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009. He’s been on the podium there fourteen times, including two back-to-back third places in 2014 and 2015, and a second place last year. He’ll be keen to keep up this stunning record, and you can never rule him out.
“I’ve rested during these holidays.” said Rossi. “I’ve passed a lot of time with my friends, but I returned to training and preparing myself as soon as possible and I feel good.
“I trained at the gym and on the bike, but now I want to go back to my M1 and work together with my team. The championship is still wide open, and we will have to work hard to be always on the podium.
“Brno’s a track I really like, I have a lot of good memories of this circuit and I hope I can make it another nice race this weekend. It will be important to be quick from the first session!”
