Yamaha prepare for battle in Barcelona

Yamaha Factory Racing heads to Spain this week for the second home race of the year for reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló on Sunday 16th June. The circuit promises to deliver an exciting weekend of racing as the scene of one of the greatest battles between Lorenzo and his teammate Valentino Rossi in 2009 when the Yamaha riders took it to the wire over the last laps in a fight for glory, won at the last corner by Rossi.

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Team

Photo by: Yamaha MotoGP

After a disastrous home race in Mugello that saw him crash out on the first lap after a collision with Alvaro Bautista, Rossi will be determined to come back fighting this weekend in Spain. The nine-time World Champion can claim more victories at Montmeló than any other GP rider with one 125cc win in 1997, 250cc wins in 1998 and 1999, one 500cc victory in 2001 and five premier class victories in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009.

Opened in 1991 and home to the Gran Premio de Catalunya since 1995, the circuit can boast one of the longest main straights in the world. Lorenzo and Rossi will need to find the optimum chassis balance and front-end feel for their YZR-M1s to deal with the long radius, medium and high speed sweeping corners, two tight left-hand corners and numerous camber changes.

Jorge Lorenzo ”I’m quite satisfied after our great result at Mugello that completed an almost perfect weekend. Winning again was very positive for me and for the team and now we go to Montmeló, my home grand prix. Some parts of the track are quite suitable for us but the doubt is always if the track conditions and the temperature can benefit us. 
I am very optimistic for the race and we will keep on working on the bike in the same way that we did in Italy. Compared to Mugello, Montmeló is a little bit slower but at least there are no first gear corners and hopefully that will help us a lot. This is a good track for us and we have to profit from it and try to repeat the victory. It could be great for the Championship. As far as I’m concerned I will push 100% to achieve it.”

Valentino Rossi "For a few days after I had the crash at Mugello, I hurt everywhere! Fortunately I was able to start training immediately and I did not waste any time. The Barcelona race will be very important, especially after recent results. I want to get on the podium in Spain and I will do my best as usual. It will be important to start the weekend in the best way and make a good qualifying. It will be very important to start from the front.”

Wilco Zeelenberg - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager “Barcelona is coming up and we have three Spanish riders on top. I think the motivation of all three is quite high because of visiting their home GP. Last year we had a big battle with Dani there and I think the track suits our bike quite well. After winning at Mugello, where the package worked out really well, we are looking forward to visiting Montmeló with a good spirit to fight. It is one race less and we are closer than before. It’s a very good opportunity to continue with our job.”

Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director “After the Mugello race we are going to start the Barcelona weekend in a good shape. For sure the circuit has always been very suitable for our bike so we are pretty optimistic that we can continue the way we finished in Mugello and we are confident Jorge will be fighting at the front as usual. Valentino needs a good result here as he has had some bad luck in the last two races. We are ready for him to recover what he has lost over the last two rounds and perform as we know he can in Catalunya.”

Yamaha Factory Racing