SIX RACE CHALLENGE STARTS AT BRNO FOR CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM
The Camel Yamaha team return from a three-week holiday next
weekend to tackle the first of a final spell of six races
that will determine whether reigning MotoGP World Champion
Valentino Rossi can turn around his fortunes and make a sixth
consecutive defence of the title he has held since 2001. The
Czech Republic Grand Prix takes place at the legendary circuit
of Brno, located just over 200 kilometres south-east of the
capital city of Prague, where last year Rossi took victory
and the lap record as he edged towards his fifth straight
title. The scenario is dramatically different for Rossi this
time around but a similar performance is required as the Italian
aims to close down the 51-point gap to series leader Nicky
Hayden (Honda). It is a tough task but certainly not impossible,
as Yamaha legend Wayne Rainey proved in 1992 when he pipped
the injured Mick Doohan to the title despite lying 65 points
behind with only five races remaining.
Fittingly this weekend marks the thirteen-year anniversary
of Rainey’s final 500cc victory for the factory at Brno
and is also precisely a decade since Rossi took his maiden
Grand Prix win at the very same circuit in the 125cc class.
Since then Rossi has added to his Brno tally with a further
250cc success and three wins in MotoGP – including last
year’s dominant display on the Yamaha. Colin Edwards
can’t wait to reacquaint himself with his YZR-M1 machine
after riding a specially prepared YZF-R1 SP Superbike alongside
Noriyuki Haga in the Suzuka 8 Hour two weeks ago. The prestigious
Japanese race proved to be a brief but eventful affair for
the American after he was knocked to the ground on lap one
and then mounted a stunning recovery, only to suffer a mechanical
failure a few laps later – continuing a run of bad luck
almost comparable to that of Rossi. Despite the shortened
holiday Edwards was able to take crucial time out to recharge
his batteries at home in Texas and he returns to Europe even
more determined to turn things around
VALENTINO ROSSI: RACE BY RACE
This time last season Valentino Rossi arrived in the Czech
Republic knowing that two more wins would be enough to seal
the MotoGP World Championship title but, for only the second
time in his premier-class career, ‘The Doctor’
must now accept that with six races remaining his destiny
is out of his hands. The latest chapter in a catalogue of
misfortune came immediately before the holidays at Laguna
Seca, where a win for Nicky Hayden combined with a breakdown
for Rossi left the Italian focusing simply on his performance
in each approaching race.
“This year I’ve had a lot of bad luck and Laguna
could not have been worse, but now we have had twenty days
of holiday to relax and forget about what happened there,”
says Rossi. “Hopefully after this rest we can try to
do something better in Brno. It isn’t one of my favourite
tracks but last year it was a great race for me; almost perfect,
with the fastest lap and the victory. I know that everyone
at Yamaha and Michelin has been working hard in the break
and hopefully in Brno we can come out fighting on Friday morning
and make the most of the weekend. “I don’t know
what to say about the championship to be honest. We only have
six races left which is maybe not enough to make up the difference
but anyway I want to try to have some fun and win as much
as possible. Right now I’m not even thinking about the
championship. I want to take it race by race and try to find
a better way forward with this bike and these tyres so I can
have some fun and try to win some more races.”
COLIN EDWARDS: REFRESHED AND RELAXED
If anyone has endured as much bad luck as Rossi this season
it is his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, whose Suzuka
misfortune came on the back of illness at his home Grand Prix
in the USA and, just a few weeks previously, a last-corner
crash that denied him of his first MotoGP victory at Assen.
However, after spending some time with his young family at
home in America, the ‘Texan Tornado’ is confident
he can kick up a storm at Brno.
“It’s been really good to have a holiday because
this season, especially during June and July, has been incredibly
hard and I definitely needed some time off to relax with my
friends and family,” says Edwards. “Now I am feeling
ready to get back on my bike and enjoy the last six races.
After the disappointment of Laguna I went to Suzuka for the
Eight-Hour and sadly that didn’t work out either - it
was a long way to go for six laps! Anyway, I’ve since
had two weeks holiday at home in Texas with my family and
I’m feeling refreshed and relaxed now and ready to get
going again for the last six races. “Things haven’t
worked out exactly how we would have liked up until now but
I know that when our package is working we can fight at the
top and this is what I am determined to do for the rest of
the season. Brno is a track I really like and I’ve been
racing there a long time so I know it pretty well. There’s
always a good atmosphere there as everyone’s nice and
chilled out after their holidays! I’m going to give
the weekend everything I’ve got and hopefully the bike
will work well so we can get a good result under our belts
to set us up for the three flyaways.”
VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 27 - Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 83 (57 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 168 (108 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 41
World Championships – 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc,
1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP)
COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION
Age: 32 - Lives: Conroe, Texas
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 60 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike
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