Rossi excited over unknown elements
Added on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi excited over unknown elements
Valentino Rossi is the latest rider to speak about his nerves ahead of this weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix, but has admitted his excitement at stepping into the unknown.
The Yamaha rider, who is looking for his fourth consecutive victory on Sunday, heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a 75-point lead in the world championship and is high on confidence ahead of the historic second US visit of the season.
“I am still on a high from Misano, which was an amazing day, but now we are facing a different challenge,” said Rossi.
“It’s very exciting to be going to Indianapolis, such a famous and historical place for motorsport, but it’s obvious from reports that it’s going to be quite a difficult race for everyone.
“Of course we have no data but we’re also expecting the surface to be quite tricky for the tyres. I hope the track is safe, we know the walls are quite close in some places but hopefully it won’t be a problem. We will find out on Friday!
“It’s fun to be going to a new place in America and I hope there will be a lot of fans, even if it’s not quite as many as at the Indy 500!”
Teammate Jorge Lorenzo also spoke in anticipation of the visit to Indy but was well aware of the challenge ahead.
“Returning to the United States is really exciting for me,” said the Spaniard, “not for the fact we’re going back there but because we’re racing at a completely new circuit.
“Indianapolis is a historic place, which we have all heard people talking about at one time or another. It’s a track I’ve seen hundreds of times in movies and on the television.
“As far as I’m concerned, I just want to keep in a good run of form and stay at the level we found at San Marino, where everything worked as we’d hoped once again. The whole team and myself have to focus throughout all four sessions because they will be crucial to prepare for the race.
“There are five rounds until the end of the world championship and we have to keep fighting to meet our objectives. This is the first of a difficult run of races outside Europe.”
