Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi are fully motivated to bring the heat at this weekend‘s Gran Premio Comunitat Valenciana, the penultimate round of the 2020 MotoGP season.
Following a difficult European GP weekend, Viñales has adopted a ’nothing-to-lose‘ mind-set for the upcoming Valencia GP. After last Sunday‘s race, he is now fourth in the standings, 41 points from the top of the leaderboard, with a maximum of 50 points still up for grabs in the final two Grands Prix.
Top Gun stood on the podium twice before in Valencia and would like to end the 2020 season on a high note by adding another Ricardo Tormo rostrum visit to his tally. He secured a victory in his first Valencian 125cc race in 2011, and he graced the top step once more in 2013 when he claimed the Moto3 World Championship Title. His best MotoGP finish was a fifth place in 2016.
Rossi was unlucky to have a premature stop to his European GP challenge. He is keen on a rematch this weekend and is looking forward to putting in many laps in all sessions. He wants to make some more kilometres on his YZR-M1 after missing the Aragon and Teruel GP.
The Doctor has visited the Valencian premier class rostrum many times prior, securing wins in 2003 and 2004, second places in 2002, 2009 and 2014, and third places in 2005, 2008, and 2010. His fans can be assured that he is going to push 100% again this time round to fight at the front of the pack.
The 4.0 km Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana - Ricardo Tormo was built in 1999 and was immediately added to the MotoGP calendar. The circuit is often described as quite challenging. Its lay-out includes nine left corners, five right ones, an 876m longest straight, and is ran anti-clockwise. Despite its tricky nature, the Valencian GP is known as a solid fan favourite, especially when it became the traditional closing round of the MotoGP championship. This year, for the first time since 2001, Valencia isn‘t the final race venue. But with the chase for the title still ongoing, the upcoming second race in Valencia is a must-watch event.
