Rio GP. Driver´s comments

Valentino Rossi: ‘We have had good success in Rio and I have many good memories of this track in the past.’.
Valentino Rossi: ‘I am very happy after the last two GP’s with the good result. We work very hard on the bike with the team and after the summer break we come back and concentrate at 100%. I think earlier in the season maybe we lost a little bit the concentration. We make a few mistakes but now we are coming good for the important part of the season. We have had good success in Rio and I have many good memories of this track in the past. We hope to make more of the same results that will be good for the championship.’Nicky Hayden: ‘I’m real lookin’ forward to the next few races. I’ve been feelin’ better and better on the bike recently and am really lookin’ for some good finishes from the last few races. I was pretty disappointed with the result in Portugal where I had come into the weekend with some high expectations from the previous two races. Only really started to come good at the end of the race and it’s too late then! I’ll be lookin’ to get on pace quick in Rio and I definitely want to move up the riders table before the end of the season.’Fonsi Nieto: ‘We haven’t been lucky in the last races, but I hope that things will change here. We have to reduce the 22-points gap with Poggiali. That’s a lot of points but we cannot give up now. There are still five races left and 125 points at stake, so we’re going to fight to the limit to be back in the top, starting this weekend in Brazil, at the Nelson Piquet circuit. This is a circuit I like a lot and where I’ve had good results so far. Last year was a shame because I crashed during the race when I touched the white line being fifth, but I hope that our luck will change this year’.Toni Elias: ‘This is a circuit I like a lot and where I’ve had good results so far. Last year was the first time I fought for the pole, although it was De Puniet who took it eventually. We did a good job that weekend and we had a good set-up for a dry race. The problem was that the race got complicated due to the rain and we finished fifth. This is a circuit I like, so let’s see how the bike adapts to it. After the victory in Estoril, the Championship is again within my reach. It is actually open for the top five riders of the standings, but Poggiali can be more relaxed than us with his fourteen points advantage. I will try to reduce the advantage but I’m not obsessed with the Championship. I prefer to focus on every single race, that’s the most important. It will be complicated because Manuel is very strong, but we’ll try to make things difficult for him.’Dani Pedrosa: ‘I don’t have especially good memories of the Nelson Piquet circuit. Two years ago, the rain hindered me from making a good race and last season the engine broke-down and I crashed. So any result will improve my latest results in Brazil. There are still 125 points at stake and many things can happen, so I don’t want to get obsessed with the title: if I see any option to win, I’ll fight for the victory and if I consider that I have to risk too much and that I have the possibility to increase my advantage in the overall standings I may repeat what I did in Portugal. I remember the Nelson Piquet circuit as a very bumpy circuit and it is very difficult to find the right setting for the suspensions, but, anyway it’s bumpy for all of us.’