Fiat Yamaha Team aiming to confirm triple crown at Valencia season finale
The highs and lows of another stunning MotoGP season draw to a close this
Sunday at the traditional season-ending finale at Valencia in Spain. The
Fiat Yamaha Team of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo have swept all
before them this year, dominating the season by taking ten race wins
between them and putting on some of the most entertaining racing displays
of recent years. Rossi clinched his ninth World Championship title last
time out in Malaysia and, with the Teams' title already in the bag and
Yamaha looking odds-on to confirm the Manufacturers' title this weekend,
the Japanese marque is hoping to take its second consecutive 'Triple
Crown,' the third since Rossi joined in 2004.
A ninth world title shows that Rossi's star shows no sign of waning yet
but the 30-year-old admitted in Sepang that this season has been one of
his toughest, due largely to his determined young team-mate. His six wins
this year are less than he has taken in any of his other eight
championship-winning seasons but he will be determined to try to increase
that by one and round off the season on the highest possible note this
weekend by finishing on top of the podium. The Italian hero admits that
the tight and twisty track is not one of his favourites but he has two
wins to his name there and a further three podiums, including third place
last year.
Lorenzo's second season in MotoGP has been even more spectacular than his
first, with four wins and some stunning battles with his much older and
more experienced team-mate. The 22-year-old has never won at the Ricardo
Tormo circuit but has some great memories from the track, having finished
as runner-up in 2005 before clinching the first of his two 250cc titles
there in 2006. The Mallorcan needs just one point from this last race in
order to confirm second place in the championship, which he says will be
more than enough of a prize for him in just his second MotoGP season, but
he, too is determined to end the year on a high note and will be aiming
for the podium at the very least.
The championship will wrap up in the usual spectacular Spanish style in
front of some 130,000 race-day fans, packed into the unique stadium-style
surroundings of the track. The layout is characterised by a never-ending
burst of tight corners connected by short straights, whilst the long
penultimate looping left-hander and the fast entry to turn one contrast
with the otherwise geometric flip-flop chicanes and slow speed corners of
the infield.
Valentino Rossi - "The end of a great season"
"I am very happy to be going to the final race with the championship won
and the pressure off, now we can just enjoy ourselves. It's been a
fantastic year and now we just have one more weekend before we start work
for 2010. Valencia hasn't been a great track for me in the past and I've
had some bad times there, but at the moment we're in great shape and our
bike is working well everywhere we go, so I hope it will be the same at
Valencia. It's a great place to finish and the atmosphere is amazing, so
we will just do our best and hope for another good race to end off a
great season. On Monday we will start working on the new M1 and I'm very
excited to try it!"
Jorge Lorenzo - "An amazing place to finish"
"Valencia is an amazing place to finish the Championship, at home, with
your fans. I've never got a victory here and I know that it's not one of
the best tracks for Yamaha, but I am confident that I can try to change
that and finish the championship in the best possible way. The last two
races haven't been great for me and I really want to get over that.
Furthermore, I need one point to become 'vice-champion' and I would
really like to do that with a podium or a win. That's my aim in Valencia.
My best race here was in 2005, when I finished in second place but I
think my best memory was in 2006 when I won the championship there. 2009
has been an amazing year for me and for Yamaha and I am looking forward
to celebrating with my fans at a home race."
Davide Brivio - "The culmination of a lot of hard work"
"We're finally at the end of the championship and it's great to be going
there with our job completed and the championship won. Sepang was a great
moment for everyone, the culmination of a lot of hard work from everyone
and another incredible effort from Valentino, who never stops trying to
be the best. It would be great to finish the season with a good result so
we will be working as hard as ever this weekend, and then on Monday we
will begin work on our 2010 campaign with a two day test with the new
evolution M1."
Daniele Romagnoli - "Prepared for a good last race"
"We're prepared for a good last race! The championship already has its
winner but our job isn't finished yet, we need to score at least one
point in Valencia in order to make sure Jorge finishes second in the
championship. In theory it shouldn't be a difficult task but anything can
happen and our aim now is to finish the season in the best way - on the
podium. Racing in Spain will give Jorge extra motivation and I have no
doubt that we will put on another great show for the MotoGP fans, as we
have all season!"
-credit: yamaha
