DAVIDE BRIVIO: KEEPING THE FAITH
Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio echoes Rossi’s
sentiments about the championship being a ‘race by race’
affair but outlined the determination of his staff to back
up their World Champion with 100% commitment until the end
of the season. The Italian admits his team faces a tough challenge
over the final six rounds but insists that they will not give
up on the title until it is a mathematical impossibility.
“Brno is the start of the final stage of the season
and we go into it finding ourselves in a difficult situation,”
admits Brivio. “We are obviously not where we would
like to be in the championship with six races to go but we
will not give up and every member of the team is ready to
fight until the end. Of course we still want to win the title
and we still believe we can do it. We have had a lot of misfortune
during the season but we still have faith in our potential.
“The break was good for everybody but after Laguna Seca
we are looking forward to getting back on the track and trying
to win races again. That is Valentino’s goal for every
Grand Prix between now and the end of the season. Because
of the Eight-Hour Colin barely had a day off for seven weeks
before the holiday so I think he needed the break more than
anybody and we are looking forward to seeing him back in good
shape. Our target for both riders is simply to improve our
level of performance and try to win every race.”
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: BRNO ACCORDING TO MATTEO FLAMIGNI
The current Brno circuit is encircled by the tendrils of the
various ‘real’ road layouts that made up the Czech
Grand Prix venues of yesteryear. Used for a Grand Prix for
the final time in 1977, the old track was replaced in 1987
by what is basically the current incarnation, subtly altered
in 1996 to measure 5.403km in length. Brno has come a long
way since riders used to judder across its cobblestone sections
but its winding chicanes and dramatic elevation changes still
provide an interesting challenge for the riders and their
engineers.
“Firstly Brno is a difficult track for the riders because
it is so wide – around 15m in some parts – and
that makes it easy for them to run off line and make mistakes,”
explains Matteo Flamigni, Data Engineer for Valentino Rossi.
“From a set-up point of view we have to give the rider
a bike which is strong under braking because there are many
areas where a rider can pass or be passed in downhill turns,
which adds to the normal stress of braking. The bike must
also be stable in the long fast corners, such as turns one,
nine and thirteen, and then agile for the chicanes. This is
always a compromise situation at any circuit but especially
at Brno, where the chicanes are also combined with elevation
changes. “The balance of the bike is critical towards
the end of the lap because there is a lot of weight transfer
between hard uphill acceleration, which naturally lifts the
front end, and braking into the chicanes, where the rider
must wait for the front to load up again before turning in.
Brno is one of the circuits where you can most clearly see
the evolution of the MotoGP bikes since changing from two-stroke
to four-stroke because a good lap time has come down by around
five seconds, even though the track hasn’t changed.
As well as showing the general improvement of the bikes and
tyres, this outlines the need for a lot of horsepower on the
long uphill straights, where gearbox settings are also crucial.”
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Pole position: left
Length: 5403 m
Width: 15m
Right corners: 8
Left corners: 6
Constructed in: 1987
Last modified: 1996
Brno Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1’58.787
Brno Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005, 1’57.504
2005 Czech Republic Grand Prix Results:
1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 43’56.539
2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, +1.837
3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda +3.444
7. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +13.532
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