Riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo carry huge motivation with them following an incredible weekend at the Assen TT two weeks ago where both riders emerged as heroes. Rossi returned to form in spectacular fashion, taking his first GP victory for over two years in a faultless ride whilst teammate Lorenzo delivered a superhuman effort. The reigning World Champion underwent surgery on his collarbone following a free practice injury and then raced to an impressive fifth position just 36hrs later.
The Sachsenring circuit has witnessed numerous victories for Rossi, the nine-time champion has taken a 250cc win in 1999 and four premier class MotoGP victories at the East German circuit in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2009. Lorenzo has yet to win at Sachsenring and will find the anti-clockwise circuit a challenge for his recently injured shoulder. Despite this the Mallorcan has the Championship firmly in mind and is yet again determined to give 100% on track.
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Jorge Lorenzo
“Sachsenring is going to be a little tough for me after the crash at Assen. It is true in Holland we achieved a stunning result for me, the team and also the Championship but I have to be realistic and I have still a long way to recover my collarbone. I made a huge effort to race at Assen and finally I could manage a really difficult weekend getting an astonishing fifth position. The situation is still that I need more time to fix the injury though. I won’t be at 100% in Germany but I’m pretty confident I can make a good weekend. At least I have had almost ten days to stay calm and improve a bit my physical condition. It will be difficult to compete another time but for sure I will push even harder than in Holland. The track is not one of my favourite tracks in the championship but at this level I don’t mind where we race. I have to give everything inside of me on each race.”
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Valentino Rossi
“I’m going to Sachsenring with a new spirit. I am very happy for the Holland race. Now I want to keep it going like that. We also want to confirm at Sachsenring the step we’ve made with the bike. We must continue to improve the bike, as we have done after testing at Aragon, because now we want to try to fight for important positions. We want to stay with the top guys every weekend. I really like Sachsenring and then there will be Laguna Seca. These will be two very important weekends.”
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Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“After the little drama at Assen finally Jorge got a terrific result, especially considering his physical condition after suffering a surgery to repair his broken collarbone then racing 38 hours later. Jorge made an incredible race at Assen, one of the most demanding tracks because of the layout. In Germany maybe it could be a little better for us. This circuit is not as fast as Assen and I think it is going to be easier for him to ride; it’s smoother with slow corners. The only problem is Jorge’s collarbone: it is still mending and he won’t be in a perfect shape. Anyway, for sure his physical condition will be better than in Holland and I guess he will be aiming to fight for the podium.”
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Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
