Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Poised for 2020 Season Finale in Portugal
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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Poised for 2020 Season Finale in Portugal
[Image: yamahaenergylog.jpg]

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi have travelled to Portimão, Portugal, for the 2020 MotoGP season finale, held at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve this weekend.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have made their way to Portimão, Portugal, to wrap up the 2020 MotoGP season at this weekend‘s big finale, the Grande Prémio de Portugal.

Maverick Viñales fell in love with the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve during the Portimão test held on 7th October and has been looking forward to this round ever since. At that time he rode on a YZF-R1, but he expects to feel even better on his YZR-M1 this weekend, although presumably there will be some set-up changes required to make it suit the track‘s elevation changes.

Top Gun holds fourth place in the overall standings, 44 points from first, but he will treat this Grand Prix as an individual event where he just wants to get the best result possible.

Valentino Rossi found the Portimão track beautiful. Though technically challenging, it is a lot of fun to ride there, making the season finale all the more exciting for the fans at home. The track has more grip than the circuit in Valencia, which the Italian hopes will be an advantage for the team.

The Doctor is still in 15th place in the championship, despite it having been a very turbulent season for him. Rather than paying mind to the standings, he will be focusing on ending his final race with the Factory Yamaha Team on a high note before switching to PETRONAS Yamaha SRT for 2021.

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve – better known as Portimão (after the port city from which it is half an hour‘s ride removed) – is situated in the Algarve region of Portugal. The circuit is already known by WorldSBK fans, who have been watching their heroes take on this tricky track practically every year since its opening in 2008. The circuit has 15 corners – nine right, six left – many elevation changes, and the front straight will allow the MotoGP riders to really stretch the legs of their machines, before a unique downhill descend into Turn 1.

[Image: YamahaprePortimao2.jpg]

Maverick Viñales

"I‘m really looking forward to riding my M1 at the Portimão track. We rode there once before on an R1. Already then the feeling was very good, so on the M1 it will be even better and even faster. Nobody has ridden MotoGP bikes at the Algarve track before, so that makes this race quite special. We will do our best. It will be fun to gain experience at a, for us, new circuit."

Valentino Rossi

"Going to Portimão is really great, that track is fantastic. The grip there is better than in Valencia, so that will help us. I felt really good during the test at the Algarve track earlier this year. It‘s different from all the other tracks that we visited throughout the season, and it‘s new for everybody, so that makes it very interesting. We will see."

Massimo Meregalli - Team Director

"This weekend is quite a special occasion, because we get to wrap up the season at a different venue than usual. Maverick and Vale had the opportunity to ride the Portimão track before on YZF-R1s, and they both were very enthusiastic about this track. What we can tell from the test is that the grip levels are good there, which is positive. We also know that the elevation changes will be an interesting challenge. All the teams will arrive at this track with more or less a blank slate, so that should make this season finale all the more interesting. This is our final race with Valentino in the Factory Team. We will also be saying goodbye to some of our much appreciated and highly respected team members after this weekend, so we want to get the best result possible, ending 2020 on a positive note."




18-11-2020, 01:28 PM
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