Valentino Rossi: ‘I think the fans will be in for a great show as the season moves on’
Valentino Rossi: I think the fans will be in for a great show as the season moves on. There are seven GPs remaining and the championship is very tight. Some tracks will favour me; some will favour others. This season I have been lucky and unlucky. Sometimes I was beaten by the weather sometimes by the rules and sometimes by my own mistakes. Brno is not one of my favourite tracks and I have not so good memories there from last year. The testing we did with the team a few weeks ago was successful and we hope for a good result this weekend for the championship. Nicky Hayden: I was hoping to come to the next GP off the back of a good Suzuka 8-hour but it isnt to be. The race itself was a bit of a mess up. A load of us went down real early, on oil. We all complained that the warning flags werent obvious enough. Anyhow back to MotoGP and Im really looking forward to Brno. We tested there just before the Sachsenring and tested a lot of different stuff. Nothing radical but things worked and the bike felt real good at the German GP straight after and the results showed. I wanted to be in a position towards the middle of the season to be running with the fast guys. I feel I am now. I just need to get the qualification thing sorted and a good grid position for the race and Ill feel like Ill be makin real progress. Fonsi Nieto: After a well deserved break, I arrive in Brno eager to fight for the victory. These days have been good to relax, shape-up and think about the Championship. We’re back in the front and now my aim is to take over the lead. Last year I was the fastest rider in the practice but I made a mistake in the race trying to pass Rolfo and that hindered me from fighting for the victory. I hope it won’t happen again this year; I’ll be working hard to get my aim. The season is being positive for me after all, because we had a bad start, but bit-by-bit we managed to find the right way. The bike goes the way I want and I feel good riding. We’ve got closer to the leadership, the Championship is open again and we’re back where we belong. Toni Elias: Germany was a complicated weekend for me, but that’s forgotten. I’ve been spending some days in Palma and Ibiza with my family. Now we’re back home and back to routine; working hard, concentrating on the next Grand Prix in Brno, where I’d love to get a good result. Since the beginning of the season, my team and I have progressed a lot with regard to the settings, but we’re not on a 100% yet. Just as it happened to Fonsi, we have to find the right set-up that allows us to be in the front fighting for victory. Hopefully things will work out better in Brno. This circuit brings back good memories to me. I took the victory two years ago and it’s one of my favourite ones. Dani Pedrosa: Holidays are always good, because the second half of the season won’t be easy at all. The advantage is that the overall standings are right now anything but significant with regard to the whole season, so we’ll keep on concentrating on each of the races, with the aim of scoring as many points as possible. Brno is a circuit I like but there are some sections, such as the long ascent, where our Aprilias make us suffer. Last year I finished second after a difficult race in group. Let’s see if we’re able to improve that position this year.