Rossi planning fun weekend as Yamaha seek record
Added on Thursday, October 16th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi looking to enjoy Sepang without the pressure.
Valentino Rossi is looking forward to a “fun” weekend at Sepang as the MotoGP season winds to a close whilst Yamaha are looking to keep up an impressive record for the final two races of the season.
Rossi, who sealed the world championship at Motegi back in September, is looking forward to resuming his rivalry with Ducati’s Casey Stoner without the pressure of a championship still to play for on a circuit which he feels even more confident on.
Having tested his Michelin-shod Yamaha at Sepang in pre-season, the Italian goes to Malaysia armed with more information than usual which should help him secure a ninth win of the season.
“I am looking forward to going to Malaysia because we have done quite a bit of testing there with Bridgestone so we have a lot of data - not something we have had for most of this season,” said Rossi.
“I was quite strong there in the winter and I hope it’s the same again this time, especially since we know a lot more about the tyres now.
“We have two races left and I would really like to try to win them both, plus I also want to keep up Yamaha’s excellent podium record this season.
“I love Malaysia and I have had some great races there in the past, plus it generally suits our bike very well so with any luck we can look forward to a fun weekend.
“That said, we know that Casey will be very strong again as well as others so it will no doubt be a good battle!”
Meanwhile, Yamaha are themselves looking to set their own MotoGP record in the final two races of the season by being the first manufacturer to achieve podium finishes at every round in a season.
Rossi, along with teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards have ensured a Yamaha presence on every rostrum so far this season, including a 1-2-3 at Le Mans in round five.
With two races to go, the constructor’s champions are within touching distance of the record and team manager David Brivio has one eye on the accolade.
“We have reached our most important targets for the season so the focus for us is on having fun but we also have one eye on the statistics.
“It would be nice to keep this podium run going for Yamaha until the end of the season and if Valentino can make the points record it will mean we’ve had a strong finish to the year, which is clearly all we want.”
