It was damage limitation for Valentino Rossi at Indianapolis, but now he heads to the bwin Grand Prix České republiky, where he has won seven times.
Only Max Biaggi has as many wins as Valentino Rossi at this track, the Italian legends both having claimed seven victories at the Brno circuit in its current layout. Brno is a favorite track for many of the MotoGP World Championship riders with a variety of corners nestled in amongst the Czech hills. Rossi will need another strong result at Brno as his rivals begin to eat into his Championship lead.
Rossi’s third at the Indianapolis GP saw his lead at the top reduced to just nine points by Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who finished second. Indianapolis hasn’t been a track that the Italian has done well at, a stark contrast to his sterling success around Brno. Qualifying is once again the most critical area for Rossi and his team to improve in and, with the MotoGP field as competitive as it is, eighth on the grid is just too far back.
“There isn‘t much time to rest but I'm happy to go to the Czech Republic,” said Rossi. “In the end the Indianapolis GP was a good race, another podium is a good result. The American weekend didn't start very well and it was very difficult to find the better setting for the race. At the end, after warm up, we had done a good job and third place for us was really good result. We are still first in the championship and that's fine. For me Brno is a nice track, I like it better than Indianapolis, but at the same time, my teammate Jorge Lorenzo is very strong in Brno. Marquez will also be strong, as he was in Indy. We'll have to do the maximum again in this weekend to not lose any more points, but I‘m feeling positive and I think that we will make it a good weekend.”
