Despite not claiming victory at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Yamaha were the standout manufacturer after occupying P2, P2, P4 and P5 in Sunday afternoon’s race. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi now await the twist and turns of MotorLand Aragon – but how are the duo feeling ahead of Round 14?
After securing his second-consecutive rostrum, Viñales is in high spirits heading to another home Grand Prix. The Spaniard is a three-time Aragon podium finisher in the lower classes – including a Moto2™ victory in 2014 – but he’s never sprayed the bubbly at MotorLand in the premier class. Two P4s in 2016 and 2017 are his best MotoGP™ finishes at the circuit, so going at least one better this weekend will be the aim for the number 12.
“After the Misano podium I’m feeling extra optimistic about coming here in Aragon,” previews Viñales. “Like every Spanish round, this GP is very special to me because the fans and atmosphere are great, and I really like this track. We have been doing good work in the previous rounds, so I expect to be fast here too.
“We will try to stay focused on our goal, we want to keep improving during every race weekend. We’ve seen our potential get better and better since starting the second half of the season, so I think that we can do a good job.”
Rossi acknowledges the Spanish layout as a historically difficult track for himself and Yamaha, but the Italian has had his fair share of success at MotorLand Aragon. The nine-time World Champion has stood on the podium three times in the form of P3s, with the latest coming in 2016.
“After the race in Misano we have travelled to Aragon for a back-to-back race. We’ve seen at the San Marino GP what we need to work on, so that’s what we will be focusing on during this weekend - though Aragon is a difficult track for us, historically,” comments ‘The Doctor’.
“We always struggled here, but this time we arrive after some good races. For sure we will have to work hard this GP, but we hope to be more competitive than we have been in the past.”
See how the factory Yamahas fare when MotoGP™ track action gets underway at 09:55 local time (GMT+2) with FP1 at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon.