The Thai Grand Prix is just around the corner and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team has made it to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, for the first Asian leg of the 2019 MotoGP season. Riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi are all prepared to face this spectacular race this weekend.
Photo credits: Yamaha Racing
“In Aragon we found the way to be strong in the first laps of the race. That was an important point for me. From lap 1 to lap 15 is where I struggled a lot earlier on this season. So we need to bring this improvement with us to Buriram. We arrive in really good shape and we‘re feeling positive because last year I did a good race,” says Viñales as quoted from Yamaha Racing.
“The Chang circuit is very demanding because of the high temperatures but I think that it‘s a track that suits us quite well, and also the tyres work very well here. We have a really good atmosphere in the team, and we are doing a great job. I hope to be more competitive in Thailand than I was at the previous round and to be closer to the top riders. As I said many times, our goal right now is to always be the first Yamaha and to try to fight for third position in the general classification.”
Photo credits: Yamaha Racing
“Now begins a series of races that will take us outside of Europe. The first of these GPs is the round held in Thailand. Last year the Buriram race weekend was really nice because I had the second place in qualifying and I was fast in the race. I fought for the podium until the end. I didn‘t get it and finished fourth, but I was fast. So, this year the goal is to be fast again and try to do even better than last year.”
Photo credits: Yamaha Racing
“We now start the Asian and Oceanian leg. It is always a crucial and very demanding part of the season for both the team and the riders. We have four races in five weeks, all in different time zones and the climates in these countries can also be quite different from each other. We will start with what we expect to be a very hot and humid race weekend at the Chang International Circuit.”
“The team are very much looking forward to getting to work, especially because we really enjoyed last year‘s race weekend in Thailand. The Buriram track has great facilities, the track seems to suit our bike, and the fans are fantastic here as well. It was at this track where we started to see improvements last year, so we are very keen to compare our current shape and measure the progress we‘ve made since then.”