Rossi happy for week off ahead of Germany
Added on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi happy for week off ahead of Germany
Valentino Rossi declared himself as grateful for the two week break in the MotoGP season as he looks to continue his charge at the top of the rider’s championship.
The eight-time world champion extended his championship lead to nine points with a second place finish at Laguna Seca nearly two weeks ago but the Italian is preparing for another gruelling fortnight with rounds at Sachsenring and Donington on the horizon.
After finishing behind Dani Pedrosa in California, Rossi was able to keep title rivals Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo in check and with his two main contenders still having fitness doubts, Rossi is the hot favourite in Germany this weekend.
“Thank goodness we’ve had some time to rest after the last two races because I was really quite tired after Laguna,” claimed Rossi. “The next two races are back to back and again it will be very hard, and it’s also a very important stage of the championship, the halfway point.
Rossi’s record at Sachsenring, by his own usual high standards, has seen some indifferent results despite his three premier class wins with three non-podium finishes, including a retirement in 2007, notable blots on the 30-year-old’s record.
But with the title race still tight, Rossi knows that he cannot afford any slip-ups in the coming weeks.
“Sachsenring isn’t one of my favourite tracks but I’ve had some great races there and generally it suits Yamaha well, which is good,” he added.
“We need another good result to keep our lead because our rivals are so strong and we can’t afford to make any mistakes. Last year there was a lot of rain in Germany but in fact we were able to take a great second place. I hope this year we can go one better.”
