After a one-week break, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team are ready to roll up their sleeves again for this weekend’s Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, held at the Automotodrom Brno.

resh from a double podium at the Andalucían GP, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi arrive at the Automotodrom Brno full of desire to get back on track again. They are filled with extra passion for the third round of the 2020 championship, as the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky shares the team’s title sponsor, who is also the Yamaha riders’ personal sponsor.

The Andalucían GP was a real test of endurance, but Viñales passed it and is full of energy again. He arrives in Brno holding second place in the championship standings, after taking two strong second places at the Jerez track in the first two rounds. He is 10 points from first and fully focused on scoring a top result to bridge this gap.

The Spaniard has visited the Czech podium twice before: in 2013, having secured second place in the Moto3 race, and in 2017 when he took third place on his first race there on a Yamaha in the premier class.

Rossi is looking forward to stepping aboard his beloved YZR-M1 again after grabbing third place at the previous round, a feat that was widely celebrated by his fans all around the world. The 41-year-old powered through some of the hottest race conditions he ever encountered, once again underlining that you can never rule out The Doctor.

The Italian is currently in sixth place in the MotoGP classifications, 34 points from first, but it’s still all to play for. He is eager to add another podium to his tally at the Czech track, which is special to him because he secured his first ever 125cc win there in 1996. His maiden 125cc victory was followed by a 250cc win in 1999, a 500cc victory in 2001 and modern era premier class Brno victories in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2009. All combined, the nine-time World Champion stood on the podium in Brno 14 times, but there’s always space for more trophies in his display cabinet.

Brno already staged motorcycle racing events as far back as 1930, when racers would ride 500cc bikes through the villages and western parts of the city on a 29-km road track. The first Czech GP was held there in 1950 and became part of the World Grand Prix Championship from 1965 to 1982 until the new circuit was built during the 1980s. In 1987 the modern Brno track hosted its first FIM Czech Grand Prix, which soon became popular with both fans and riders thanks to its great atmosphere and location. The fans will again be sorely missed at the track this weekend, but they will still be able to enjoy all the racing action that this circuit offers from a socially safe distance.

Besides sharing the title sponsor with this event, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team also give some extra attention to Official Sponsor Gilles Tooling, a leading manufacturer for innovative high-performance motorcycle parts. The partnership between Gilles Tooling and the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in MotoGP started in 2015. Having entered their sixth year together, Gilles Tooling deserve an extra moment in the spotlight, so for the upcoming third round of the MotoGP championship their logo will feature prominently on the front cowl of Viñales’ and Rossi’s M1s.


Maverick Viñales

We start the next part of the championship in a positive mood. Overall, the two race weekends in Jerez were good, the bike was working well, even in the extreme heat, which is something we used to struggle with. Seeing this progress makes me even more excited and curious about what we can achieve in Brno this weekend. My team has been doing a great job so far, and we are working in the right way, so I think we can get some very positive results at the next three GPs, especially this Sunday. Brno is one of my favourite circuits, and we want to do well at this Monster Energy-sponsored event, so for sure we will do our best to be at the front again and fight for the win.

Valentino Rossi

It’s time for Brno, which is always a special weekend for me. It’s where I took my very first victory in the 125cc class, back in 1996, and that is something I can never forget. Normally the atmosphere is really fantastic at this track, but unfortunately we will have to race without the fans. But still, this is a very beautiful race circuit - it’s a track I really like, so we will try to give the fans watching from home a good show. The podium at the last race was a great result and a big emotion, so we are going to push 100% to be competitive again this weekend and give the maximum.

Massimo Meregalli

After the heat in Jerez and the excitement of the first two race weekends, we have recharged our batteries, so we are now ready to fight again. We have three back-to-back races coming up, one held in Brno and two in Spielberg. This means we have to be focused, because these early stages of the championship are decisive, and we have to squeeze out the maximum potential. The upcoming GP is especially important to us, because the Czech round is sponsored by Monster Energy. We have been enjoying our partnership with them a lot, so the team would like nothing better than to celebrate this collaboration with some further top results. It will be a full-on three weeks, so it's crucial that we immediately get into shape and feature at the front starting from Friday morning.