After an eventful weekend in Argentina the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team headed straight from South America to Austin, Texas in the United States of America this week for the first back-to-back race weekends of the 2016 MotoGP Championship.
After a dramatic weekend of highs and lows at the Termas de RÌøo Honda circuit both Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are keen to get straight back in the hot seat of their YZR-M1s.
Nine-time world champion Rossi arrives in Texas having arguably taken the most benefit from the bizarre race day in Argentina on Sunday that saw a huge amount of uncertainty and difficult riding conditions to deal with. A mid race bike change and less than perfect track conditions saw many riders crash out.
The Doctor was not one of them though, hanging in and using all his race craft to capitalise on the opportunity to snatch a second place on the podium at the end of the race following a determined chase of race leader Marc Marquez. The Italian doesn't count COTA as one of his favourite tracks but despite this has seen his performance there improve over the years since its addition to the MotoGP calendar, with a hard fought third place podium finish last year his best result so far.
"I am happy to return to Texas and to race at COTA," Rossi said. "We have to work hard in Austin because it's crucial to understand quickly how bike, tyres, electronics and this track work together. Furthermore in the last laps of the race I'm not very strong so we need to improve with the bike on these tyres. Historically it is a difficult circuit for us and for Yamaha, but last year I could arrive on the podium so I will try also this year."
