Brno weekend warms up with press conference

With new regulations restricting the MotoGP riders to five engines for the remaining seven rounds of the season coming into play as of this weekend’s Cardion AB Czech Republic Grand Prix and a day of testing set to take place on Monday, bike updates were a running theme in Thursday’s official pre-GP media briefing.

As he has done on numerous occasions previously MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi was the first man to speak, in the first press conference since a short summer break, the Italian stating, “It was a nice break, personally I needed it! I just stayed at home for ten days of holidays and tried to save my energy for the second part of the season.”

Rossi went on to reveal that there will be new material available to him courtesy of Fiat Yamaha this weekend and discussed the new engine rules, saying, “It changes the way we will work on the bike a little bit. Now you have to plan more which bike you use during the practice and you have to take care of the engine, even after the race. It should save money so it is important. In Monday’s test we have some small details to check and we will try to take another step forward with the bike.”

Also in attendance was British Grand Prix racewinner Andrea Dovizioso, who said of his maiden GP win just over two weeks ago, “It was the perfect way to allow us to relax fully at home during the break and we arrive here fully motivated.” Of his own updates from Repsol Honda for the weekend he added, “We have a new swingarm and we will test it throughout the Grand Prix, not just on Monday, if the conditions are right.”

Dovizioso’s compatriot Loris Capirossi of the Rizla Suzuki team was on the podium at Brno last year and he too has some machine updates as he looks to rectify his 2009 form. The veteran Italian stated, “We have a new engine to use this weekend and I’m sure it will help a lot. We know we have to improve in the second part of the season and we will test many new parts on Monday and maybe we can test a new chassis this weekend. Suzuki are working really hard to help us bridge the gap.”

For Mika Kallio this weekend gives him the chance to try riding a factory bike in the Ducati Marlboro team as a temporary replacement for Casey Stoner and the Finn commented simply, “I just want to say thanks to Ducati and to my regular team Pramac Racing, in particular Paolo Campinoti, for giving me this opportunity. I hope that Casey is better after these three races but obviously this is a great chance for me.”

Concluding the press conference Hungarian rider Gabor Talmacsi of the Scot Racing Team took to the microphone, acknowledging the amazing support he always receives at Brno and the special feeling he will have during his first Grand Prix at the circuit as a MotoGP rider. He revealed, “My country is so near and people love motorsport there so I expect 40,000 or 50,000 fans to come over, which is great for the championship. I am very proud when I see them all here so I have to say thanks already to all my fans!”