MAVERICK VIÑALES WILL NOT RACE IN AUSTIN

Maverick Viñales will not be on the starting grid for the GP of the Americas scheduled this weekend on the circuit in Austin, Texas.

Less than a week has passed since the accident involving Dean Berta Viñales, Maverick’s young cousin, which is not enough time to regain the serenity needed to race. Maverick, with the full and unconditional support of Aprilia Racing, has therefore decided to take a break on his journey of getting to know the bike and team from Noale.

The entire Aprilia Racing family supports this decision and stands with Maverick and his loved ones. There will be other times and other rounds to resume the promising journey begun together. A journey that must be entirely respectful of the people involved and their feelings.

Argentina confirmed on the MotoGP™ calendar until 2025

A three-year extension sees Termas de Rio Hondo remain the home of MotoGP™ in Latin America from 2023-2025 

Wednesday, 29 September 2021

Dorna Sports is delighted to announce a contract extension that will see Argentina remain on the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship calendar until 2025. Already confirmed until 2022 due to the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new three-year contract will now see the Autódromo Termas de Rio Hondo, in the province of Santiago del Estero, continue to host MotoGP™ in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Termas de Rio Hondo first hosted MotoGP™ in 2014, creating a new home for the world’s fastest motorcycle racing Championship in Latin America. This new agreement between Dorna Sports, the Argentinean Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the National Institute of Tourism Promotion in Argentina (Inprotur), and the Government of Santiago del Estero province, as well as the OSD Group as local promoter, was announced today in a special presentation in Termas de Rio Hondo, confirming the future of one of the most vibrant race weekends on the MotoGP™ calendar and extending the collaboration beyond the milestone of a decade.

Matías Lammens, Tourism and Sports Minister: “Few provinces reflect the synergy between tourism and sport as Santiago del Estero does. That’s why it fills us with pride to continue hosting MotoGP, an event with international prestige that will also play an important role in the economic redevelopment of the region. I want to congratulate the governor for making tourism and sport key policies. The national government reaffirms our commitment to accompany this venture that generates both employment and local development.”

Gerardo Zamora, Governor of Santiago del Estero: “The city of Termas de Rio Hondo and the province of Santiago del Estero will remain positioned on the international stage thanks to this event, the work that has been carried out over these seven years along these lines. MotoGP creates truly superlative economic impact in the north of Argentina. The competition takes place at a top level circuit and the riders, the organisation and the fans know and enjoy the destination. The Republic of Argentina also gains visibility through the hundreds of thousands of homes around the world via the official broadcasts. The Government of the Province, together with Dorna, Inprotur and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, join together in their efforts so that these achievements may long continue.”

Orlando Terranova, CEO OSD Group: “We’re very satisfied and happy to renew our agreement with Dorna Sports to continue organising the Grand Prix of Argentina, which we’ve done since 2014. The effort is enormous, but we are able to make it happen thanks to an incredible team headed by Minister Lammens and Governor Zamora. MotoGP is an event that allows us to take our place on the world stage, show our strengths and be a point of reference in global elite sport. We celebrate all this and redouble our efforts so that each new edition is even better than ever before, creating an amazing experience for the fans who attend. Termas de Rio Hondo will receive us looking better than ever, the circuit will be perfect and even more improved. We continue moving forward in order to remain a point of reference in this part of the world.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “The three-year contract renewal for the Grand Prix of Argentina is fantastic news for MotoGP, showing once again the incredible level of interest in our sport across the territory. The impressive crowds who flock to the event, and from many different countries, added to the great feedback from the riders, proves how vital our presence in Argentina and Latin America truly is.”

MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP RETURN TO TEXAS FOR GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS

Austin, Texas (USA), 29th September 2021

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team are travelling to America for the 16th Grand Prix on the 2021 MotoGP calendar. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are both looking forward to riding at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) again for the first time since April 2019.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team are making their way to Austin, Texas in the United States of America for a single fly-away race before tackling the three GPs of the final European leg. After the positive results of the MotoGP test at the Misano Circuit last week, both Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are fully motivated to strive for top results.

Quartararo arrives at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) holding the lead in the championship with a 48-point advantage and four races to go, including this weekend‘s encounter. El Diablo is a racer through and through and has made up his mind to keep his ’all or nothing‘ winner‘s mentality going for the upcoming head-to-head in Austin, Texas.

In his very first year of visiting COTA, in 2015, the Frenchman immediately scored second place in the Moto3 class, his only podium at this track so far. He has ridden a MotoGP bike in Austin just once, in April 2019, taking seventh. With the experience he has gained since then on the M1, he is confident that he can fight for top positions this time round.

Morbidelli counts himself lucky to have escaped injury after some falls in the Misano Test last week. The following days off have given him time to get recharged and he is looking forward to trying the Factory YZR-M1 at another track and continuing the positive manner in which he finished the test.

The Italian is currently 17th in the championship with 40 points, but rather than overall rankings, getting the feeling back after his rehabilitation period is his main goal for this weekend. Always up for a challenge, Morbidelli is a fan of the tricky Austin track and is anticipating making laps there. Some of his best results include his win in 2017 in the Moto2 class and the fifth place he scored with Yamaha in the premier class in 2019.

Constructed in 2013, the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) is one of the newest on the calendar, having been added to the Grand Prix schedule that same year. Its 5513m length and mixture of fast straights and tight hairpins make the track both challenging and exciting to master for teams and riders. They need to find exactly the right balance for the bike‘s set-up to suit the 11 left and 9 right turns in combination with the 1,200m straight in order snatch a place on the podium. The especially sharp Turn 1 will be a place where the fans can expect a lot of overtaking action, both at the start and during the race.

Those who wish to be reminded of COTA‘s lay-out can refresh their memory by watching this eSport video.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Our team is really quite excited to return to Austin. Though it‘s one of the more complicated tracks, it is a venue that we always feel very welcome at and that our crew really enjoys. It’s even more special this year because we were not able to race here in 2020, so we are determined to put on a good show this weekend. This circuit’s lay-out is a bit tricky, and theoretically it‘s perhaps not the best suited to our bike, but in recent years our team has scored a good number of podiums here. We know Fabio wants to keep taking things one race at the time and focus on getting top results, so our goal with him will be another podium finish. As for Franky, we noticed improvements at the Misano Test. For him the objective this weekend will be to keep making laps with the bike and improve his feeling, like he has been doing. If they can both make a good start to proceedings on Friday, we should be in for an enjoyable race weekend.

FABIO QUARTARARO

We start the race weekend in Austin with a 48-point advantage, and after this there are three more races, so my mentality stays the same as it was in Misano. Originally my goal was not to think about the championship until the San Marino GP, but I have decided to keep it going. I think that‘s the right thing for me: to be in the moment and fight for the victory if I can. In Misano that nearly gave my mum a heart attack and my dad for sure enjoyed it a lot. I‘ve had this idea already at the beginning of the year that ’no matter if I‘m fighting for the championship or not, I want to win‘. That was the case in Misano, and I want it to stay like this.

FRANCO MORBIDELLI

I enjoy riding in Austin. It‘s a track that‘s tough and difficult, but I really like it. In 2019, the last time we rode there with MotoGP, I had a good result. I hope to be there, improve the feeling with the bike, and improve my overall performance. We made a really good step during the Misano Test. I definitely had more feeling already in the final lap on Day 2 than I did in the first few laps on Day 1. This is already positive. We are moving forward and are trying to improve as fast as we can.