For Rossi, in particular, this is a crucial opportunity to close the gap on series leader Casey Stoner after conceding 39 points to the Australian over the past three races. The Italian has not appeared on the podium during that time but he has yet to go four races without a top three finish since his rookie season in 2000 and he certainly will not be short of support in his quest to maintain that record. Thousands of fans are planning to make the 15km pilgrimage from his hometown of Tavullia to the Misano circuit on foot on Saturday morning and fill the stadium-style banking that surrounds the circuit with his famous yellow colours.

Whilst this will be Rossi’s first competitive race at the renowned Italian circuit, his team-mate Colin Edwards has plenty of experience there thanks to his days in the World Superbike Championship, when he finished on the podium on four occasions. However, the track knowledge he gained during that time will be of little use this weekend, with the circuit now running in the opposite direction. In order for the riders to get used to the new layout, they will be given an extra hour of free practice on Friday afternoon and each rider’s tyre allowance has been increased by one front and two rears - taking the total allocation to 15 and 19 respectively.

Valentino Rossi - “We will do our best”
Valentino Rossi’s unusual podium dry spell since his victory at Assen two months ago has left him 60 points adrift of Stoner at the top of the championship, with just six rounds remaining to haul himself back into contention. The multi-World Champion has made a habit of defying the odds throughout his glittering career but is well aware of the challenge ahead and is simply looking forward to performing for his home fans this weekend.

“It’s always very special for me to race in front of my home fans and Misano is so close to my home that it should be something amazing!” says Rossi. “Anyway, we arrive here not in such great shape, following some disappointing races. We had two days of testing in Brno and, although we weren’t able to find the ‘miracle’ tyres that we were hoping for, we did give a lot of information to Michelin and hopefully they will have been able to use this to do some good work during this week. We will see where we are on Friday morning.

“About the track, now they’ve turned it around it’s like a new track for everyone. Even Colin, who knows it well from Superbikes, is expecting that his previous knowledge won’t help, so I think it’s fair to say that we’re all in the same boat. As always we will do our best and I sincerely hope that we can give the Italian fans something to cheer about!”

Colin Edwards - “Keep the faith!”
Colin Edwards returned home to Texas for a short break after the Brno tests, which saw him complete extensive tyre work alongside Michelin’s engineers. The American also tried some new starting maps but despite his knowledge of the circuit he admits it will be an entirely different kind of map that he will need on Friday morning!

“I remember the old layout well so I think my mechanics are going to have to remind me which way to go round the track!” jokes Edwards. “Of course I knew the old track well from my Superbike days and I’ve had some great races there, I liked it a lot. However all that knowledge is pretty much out of the window now we’re going the other way around so I’m pretty much just viewing it as a new track. Of course I know my way around the town well and where to get the best ice cream, but I think I just need to forget everything else I remember about it!

“The test at Brno was important to try and get some more data for the tyres because the new tyre rules don’t you give much opportunity to try new things during a Grand Prix. We found a front that I’m pretty happy with and made some improvements with the rear so hopefully that will help. We’re not expecting miracles but we’ve just got to go step-by-step and keep the faith. I’ve been home for a few days so I’m well rested and looking forward to reacquainting myself with Misano!”

Valentino Rossi - Position: 7th Time: +22.485
“We expected a difficult race today because we knew our potential here wasn’t very high after the last two days. However it was even worse than we expected! I tried to keep my rhythm going but, after only seven or eight laps, the tyre started to slide a lot on the right side and from then on I wasn’t able to open the throttle.

“Throughout the weekend we have done everything to try to find more traction. We have changed the setting a lot to try to find a way to make the tyre work, but unfortunately during the race we had no grip. Also, with the setting we had to use, we had to sacrifice some of our corner speed and this also slowed us down. It was very difficult today. I was able to do 1.59s to start with but after a few laps the tyre made a big step down and then I just had to wait for the end of the race.

“I had a hard time with Capirossi at the start; in some parts I was faster than him but I couldn’t overtake him because he was pulling away from me on the straights. Eventually I got past him but he stayed with me and I couldn’t pull clear. I pushed as hard as I could; at that time I wasn’t too fast but not too slow either, but after that my tyre was finished and then Vermeulen came, then Loris again…I am sad because I wasn’t even able to try to fight with them today. Towards the end I had to push at the limit to stay in front of de Puniet and luckily I managed, but we were a very long way from a good performance. I tried to change my style, to ride in a different way to help the situation, but it was no good.

“We have a test now but in reality our situation is quite bad and we have a few different problems to deal with. We will try to make the best of the next two days of work and to try to find something different for the next few races. We have to wait and see what we find, but for sure it’s going to be very difficult. This is a very hard moment that we’re in. We have six races to go and we just have to work as hard as we can to try to find a way to make some good results.”

Colin Edwards - Position: DNF Time: Lap 3
“Even though my start wasn’t so bad on paper - I made up one place - it didn’t feel too good. We were trying a new starting system that’s been working really well but, in the hustle and bustle on the grid, I released the clutch a bit early, dropped RPM and then had to re-group. Anyway, I was pushing pretty hard from then on and I had a couple of passing areas that I knew I was good at so I was working my way up to de Puniet to see what I could do. I came out of turn three, went into four and was watching him and before I knew it, I lost the front and was on the ground. It’s been a long time since I’ve lost the front that fast, usually it just kind of gives way but I guess it wasn’t completely up to temperature, it was only the second lap and it just went. I made a mistake and I’m really disappointed, now we’ve got some serious work to do during the test so we have a better weekend in Misano.”

Davide Brivio - Team Director
“It is very hard to find the right words to say about today! We had a very difficult race with Valentino and we tried our best with what we had. Unfortunately Colin crashed when he was feeling good after this morning, so that’s a great pity as well. We have to keep working now to improve our package and the situation we find ourselves in. We have two days of testing here and we will try some new engine parts as well as some new tyres. Of course we won’t give up and we will be working very hard over the next two days with both riders. We’ll be back to try again in Misano.”

Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Czech out of Brno well Qualified

The Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team leave the Czech Republic Grand Prix at the technically demanding Brno circuit with an impressive result locked away in the record books. In his first year of MotoGP competition, Sylvain Guintoli put his Yamaha M1 at the top of the time sheets at the end of the opening day. This effort reflected the achievement of last year during the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island when a Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 machine also topped the table. The team were subsequently in high spirits and in a very competitive one-hour qualifying session on Saturday afternoon Guintoli again battled with the leading factory teams. In the fight for the race it appeared that the best result of the year was a distinct possibility as he charged through to ninth place. He then managed to close on a another quartet of leading riders that included Valentino Rossi, but the frantic pace of his determined riding caused the rear tyre of Sylvain’s machine to lose it’s competitive edge. He eventually finished in 13th place to score more valuable championship points. His teammate, Makoto Tamada, could not replicate his result from the previous round in the USA and finished 17th.

Sylvain Guintoli - Position: 13th Time: 43.694
The weekend has been very good. We managed to perform very well on Friday and top the time sheets which was very good and yesterday in qualifying we were just 0.1 seconds behind Valentino Rossi, which confirms the big step forward Dunlop have made with their qualifying tyres. For the race we made the best choice we had regarding the rear tyre. I didn’t have any problem with the front and I managed to fight through a big bunch but the second half of the race my pace went down because I had a lot of spinning and lost a lot of side grip especially on the left. I did the maximum I could and that’s why I am pleased with my riding this weekend. I am now really looking forward to Misano. I think it will be pretty even for every tyre company and maybe it will be the only GP where the new tyre rule will really help us so I can’t wait to get there and improve on this weekend’s performance. I’d also like to thank the team and Dunlop for all the hard work they have been putting in.

Colin Edwards - Position: 9th Time: 1′57.702 Laps: 25
“This morning we made a tiny change to our bike, just a couple of millimetres in front and a couple behind, and it completely turned things around, which just goes to show how finicky this sport is! It felt much better so I was pretty pleased after the first session. This afternoon we continued in the same way and I was riding as hard as I could but we couldn’t do much better than low 59s. It seems that our bike works brilliantly at the smoother tracks like Donington and Assen but where it’s a little bumpier, like here, it just gets a tiny bit ‘busy’ in front and this is something I think we really need to work on for the future. It probably only costs two or three tenths a lap but with the times as close as they that’s key. Anyway, we’re on the third row, not too great but not the end of the world either and we’ll be doing our best to get into the mix tomorrow and have a good race.”

Valentino Rossi - “We won’t give up”
Valentino Rossi heads to Brno planning re-launch his title challenge at what has been one of his most successful circuits. The 28-year-old took his maiden Grand Prix win at Brno in the 125cc class and has since added to his tally with a 250cc success and three wins in MotoGP, as well as three second places in the top class. In fact, the only occasion he failed to finish in the top two at Brno in MotoGP was in 2002 and a continuation of that run is the target this weekend.

“Of course Laguna was quite disappointing and it would have been nice to have been able to go into the summer break knowing we had closed the gap in the championship, but this sadly wasn’t the case,” says Rossi “Laguna made many things quite clear about the situation that we’re in this season and I know that many people at Yamaha and Michelin have been working very hard during this break in order to help us to be in better shape at the next race. Now I’m really looking forward to getting back onto the bike and doing the best we can to get back into the fight.

“Of course we know that the championship is going to be difficult, but we were in a worse situation at this time last year, with less races remaining, and we still managed to come back to lead the fight. This time it will be very, very hard because Stoner is very strong and is not making mistakes, but we won’t give up. I know my team, Yamaha and Michelin will continue to give 100% and we will fight at every one of the final seven races. Brno last year was the start of a turnaround in our fortunes so let’s hope this is the case again this year!”

Colin Edwards - “Ready to run at the front”
Colin Edwards did not have to travel far to enjoy his holidays after the last round at Laguna Seca, the Texan staying on in his native USA for an extended spell with friends and family. The break has given Edwards time to reflect on a tough few races leading up to his home Grand Prix and make plans to improve on a best result of seventh place at Brno, achieved in both 2004 and 2005.

“It’s been great to have a decent amount of time at home since Laguna with the family,” says Edwards. “I’m coming back feeling nicely rejuvenated and full of energy for the final couple of months. I’ve put the bad result of Laguna behind me now; obviously I was gutted not to have had a better result at my home race but there is no point dwelling on it. I’m looking forward now and my aim is to get some really good results under my belt between now and Valencia.

“Everyone’s going to be back working at the maximum level and it’s going to be good to get going again in Brno. I didn’t have a great race there last year but I made some big steps forward in the test afterwards; this time I plan to do that before the race! I know that we’ll all be working hard from Friday morning and be ready to run at the front.”

Davide Brivio - “We can’t make any mistakes”
Brno is traditionally the round where the majority of factories test new parts, and even new bikes, ahead of the crucial title run-in and this season is no different. Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio has confirmed that the team are looking forward to improved engine performance from the YZR-M1 at Brno, whilst the Japanese factory will have new material available to test in a two-day session at the Czech circuit following the Grand Prix.

“I think it is fair to say that nobody at Yamaha or Michelin has taken a holiday since we left Laguna Seca!” said Brivio. “I know that in Japan they have been busy working on the engine and we hope to have a small improvement for the race at Brno. We also expect to have some new parts available to test on Monday, providing the final test with them in Japan was successful. Michelin have also been pushing hard to come up with something new for this race and we have a lot of confidence in them.

“As far as the championship is concerned, we are in a similar position to this stage last year in that we know that we cannot afford to make any mistakes or have a single bad race between now and the end of the season. Our competitors are very strong and it will be extremely difficult to beat them but our job is to try and to always give our best. Until the mathematics say we are beaten we will continue to fight.”