Following an eventful race day at the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich last Sunday, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have analysed the data and are ready for another head-to-head at the Spielberg Circuit this Sunday, for the Grand Prix of Styria.
Maverick Viñales was unlucky not to be able to go all out in the opening laps of Race 2 last weekend due to a technical issue. However, his competitive pace later on as well as his pole position give him confidence that he can get a top result this weekend.
‘Top Gun’ is currently third in the championship standings, 19 points from first, but not for long if it‘s up to the Spaniard. He is determined to end the triple header with a good result, bettering his fifth-position best result on a Yamaha on Austrian soil, achieved in 2019.
Valentino Rossi had a big scare at the Austrian GP watching two crashed bikes cross the track right in front of him, nearly taking out both him and his team-mate. However, he was able to get right back into the zone for the 20-lap Race 2 that followed. His fifth place gave him an extra boost for the upcoming weekend and pushed him two places up the order to fifth in the championship.
The Doctor made a big improvement over the course of the last weekend and feels that, with the race data added, he and his crew will be able to make further steps during the Grand Prix of Styria. The Italian‘s best premier class results in Austria are the fourth places he obtained in 2016 and 2019, and he has his eyes on a top-3 trophy for this weekend.
The Spielberg circuit was constructed in 1969 and was rebuilt in 1996 to the track‘s current lay-out. It had hosted two Austrian GPs in the 90s and staged its return to MotoGP Grand Prix racing after nineteen years in 2016. It has been a fixture on the MotoGP calendar since. The track has a special character, with only ten turns in total (three left and seven right) and multiple long straights, the longest measuring 626m. The circuit’s design puts the emphasis on top speed, acceleration and braking stability, offering the riders plenty of opportunities to fully open the throttle.
