MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP TEAM READY FOR JEREZ REMATCH
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), July 22, 2020
Monster Energy Yamaha’s MotoGP team will be back in action this weekend at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto (Spain). Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi already covered a few kilometers on the 4.4 km long route last weekend and want to take another step for the Gran Premio de Andalucía.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi are impatient to get back into their YZR-M1 at Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto to compete in the second round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship.
Viñales had a great GP overall in Spain. His rapid pace matched the heat of the Jerez track all weekend and he secured his first start in the front row and the podium (a second place) of the 2020 season. However, the Spaniard is always the perfectionist and can hardly wait to to further optimize the settings of his YZR-M1 in order to regain a top position. The number 12 rider wants to revisit the Andalusian podium this weekend and add to his list of achievements: his second place from last week, a third place in MotoGP last year and his Moto3 victory in 2013.
Rossi is making a strong comeback this weekend with passion. The Italian had the setback to get an NC result last Sunday due to a technical problem. This week he wants to make up for the lost points, work on the rear handle problem that held him back last weekend and thrill his fans with exciting racing action. If anyone knows how to do that, it’s The Doctor. He was on the top step of the Jerez podium a total of seven times (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2016), secured two second places (2008 and 2014) and achieved three third places (in 2000, 2010 and 2015) alone in the premier class. He was also successful here in the lower class, securing a 125cc and 250cc victory in 1997 and 1999 and a 250cc second place in 1998.
For the Andalusian GP, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP motorcycles will again have a special sticker on the front fairing. This time, official regional sponsor Pont Grup will be proud to see the YZR-M1 of Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi, who once again strive for greatness in Jerez.
The Circuito de Jerez was built in 1986 and has been one of the most popular MotoGP events of the season ever since. It’s blessed with good weather, beautiful scenery, fast corners and hard braking areas, a package that delivered some exciting racing action this past weekend and this time promises to do so again.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
This weekend we will be racing at the Jerez Circuit again. It’s a unique and maybe a happy situation for MotoGP: we usually have to wait a full year, but this time we can apply the data from last weekend immediately and use it to prepare for Sunday’s race. This is especially handy as we didn’t cover as many racing kilometers as we normally would have done at this time of year. Last weekend we identified certain areas where we need to improve. With Maverick almost climbing the top step of the podium last time around, he’ll be very motivated to fight for first place – that made him even more hungry for a win. Valentino will also be very eager to get back in the saddle to get past the disappointing end of the race last weekend. We will fully support both drivers again in order to achieve top results.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
Last week I felt great on the bike here in Jerez, so I’m confident about this GP too. To be honest, I had a good pace – first in the test and later during the race weekend – and despite the tire deterioration in the race, I was able to come in second. My team did a great job and we are all very motivated to fight for the podium and victory again. I think we can be even stronger this time because we now have all this extra racing data. We have done a good job so far, so as always we will continue to work hard to get the best possible result.
VALENTINO ROSSI
The Spanish GP was difficult for me. I had big problems in the heat due to tire degradation and later had to retire from the race, which was unfortunate. In a way, it is good that we can go back to Jerez this week because we can use the data from Sunday and use it to our advantage. We’re going to work hard because we want to be strong again this weekend. I feel fine and ready to fight again.