MotoGP - Yamaha Moves on to Motegi

After a fantastic victory by Jorge Lorenzo at Aragon only a fortnight ago, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team prepares for the tripleheader overseas races, starting at the home of Yamaha with the Grand Prix of Japan.

Though Valentino Rossi suffered a bump to the head during a crash at Aragon, the nine-time World Champion escaped serious injuries and is expected to compete in the GP of Motegi without any physical problems. This weekend he has made it his mission to fight with the front-runners. Rossi has been successful at this track numerous times before. In the premier class he has been victorious at the Motegi circuit in 2001 and 2008, scored second place in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2009 and achieved third place in 2010.

After a great weekend at Aragon, teammate Lorenzo is also thrilled to return to the Japanese track. He will aim for another spectacular victory like last year’s perfect performance. Over the last six years, the Spaniard has climbed the Motegi podium four times, winning the Japanese GP in 2009 and 2013, finishing in second place in 2011 and 2012.

The Twin Ring circuit at Motegi in Japan was built by Honda in 1997 for test purposes. Two years later the 4.801m road circuit was first visited by the MotoGP circus and instantly became a major attraction for motorsports fans thanks to its rich motorsports heritage. Motegi was added to the MotoGP calendar in 2000 as the Pacific Grand Prix until it replaced the Suzuka circuit in 2004 as the host of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Valentino Rossi

“Aragon was a very difficult race weekend but there were also many positive aspects. First, the bike was really ok on Sunday. I immediately felt good on the bike as soon as I arrived on the grid. In the first laps I was able to make good overtakes and stay with the top three riders. My team did a really good job. Another positive thing is that I have not done anything, apart from the big headache the next few days! I feel very well and I look forward to the tripleheader overseas races because I am feeling better and better on the bike and the team are working really well. The fight for second place is getting interesting, we will try to achieve the best result possible! Japan is not one of my favorite tracks but also Aragon was not and still we went very well. We will see. It's Yamaha's home GP and we will do our best to get a good result!”

Jorge Lorenzo

“First of all I would say it was a fantastic feeling to win at home in Aragón. We were able to manage a difficult race and taste the first victory of the 2014 season, which was amazing after a disappointing start. We solved many problems during the weekend and did a great job on Sunday with the whole team. Now we are traveling to Japan, a country I love for many reasons. I have great memories from last year, when we surprised everyone with a huge success in our rival’s home. Last year we won at Motegi and also achieved the 200th victory for Yamaha in front of the two Honda bikes. It was unbelievable! Hopefully we can repeat it this time with another perfect weekend.”