News

"stoner's strong but i will not give up" - Rossi

13/08/07

Brno MotoGP Preview by David Miller

Five-times world champion Valentino Rossi says he has not given up hope of winning another crown this season but recognises it will be tough given how strong Ducati's Casey Stoner is.

And he says his team were in a worse situation than this last year, and it survived. "We know that the championship is going to be difficult, but we were in a worse situation at this time last year, with less races remaining, and we still managed to come back to lead the fight," said The Doctor. 

"This time it will be very, very hard because Stoner is very strong and is not making mistakes, but we won't give up. I know my team, Yamaha and Michelin will continue to give 100 per cent and we will fight at every one of the final seven races. Brno last year was the start of a turnaround in our fortunes so let's hope this is the case again this year!"

Brno marks the completion of a full circle in the 800cc era, with two bikes having had their debut runouts as prototypes in last year’s post-race test. The first two out of the box included those used by MotoGP’s current top duo, World Championship leader Casey Stoner and five-time former king Valentino Rossi.

Stoner’s Desmosedici GP7 has been first past the chequered flag on six occasions so far this season, and an astonishingly consistent record that sees his lowest finish being fifth place has given him a 44-point lead at the top of the standings.

The Australian brought an end to the MotoGP pole position hoodoo of no rider winning from the head of the grid at the last race at Laguna Seca, and is in a commanding position heading to the track where Ducati took victory last year.

For Rossi, making up the gap will be a tough task, but not impossible based on last year’s comeback. The Italian clawed back a larger margin last season to lead the classification at the start of the final round at Valencia, but will need to return to the podium for the first time in three races to hit the ground running after the early-August downtime.

Rossi has won three times at Brno in MotoGP, and both he and tyre manufacturer Michelin have a point to prove after Bridgestone took the triumph in 2006 courtesy of Loris Capirossi.

"I've always had very good results at Brno, I like the circuit a lot," said Stoner. "It's another of those fast, flowing circuits, a little bit like Mugello and Phillip Island, so it's always been one of my favourites.

"But we'll have to see how we go when we get there. I'm not saying I'm going be any faster there than anywhere else, but I do really enjoy the circuit. Looking at the Ducati and Bridgestone package, Loris did really well at Brno last year, but saying that he also did really well at Jerez last year and we kind of struggled a bit at Jerez at the start of this season, so we just have to wait and see how it'll be. Anyway, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to find out all the bugs and we hope to be strong again on race day."

Nicky Hayden took some time out after his disappointing time Laguna but goes to Brno confident of a good result - and intimating that HRC may be bringing some parts with them.

"Brno is track I quite like - I think most of the guys do because it's pretty exciting with climbs and downhill sections, and even though the surface is getting pretty used it's still got good grip," he said. "It's also a track where horsepower is your friend with some big uphill sections and pretty long straights. So it will be exciting to see what HRC brings back to the party this weekend."