Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Prepare to Rodeo in Austin

2023-04-17 07:56
Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez and Soichiro Minamimoto have reunited for this weekend‘s Grand Prix of The Americas. The teammates are both in high spirits as they anticipate a positive, albeit testing, race weekend at the technically difficult Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

Gonzalez had been looking forward to returning to Austin, Texas, ever since he left the USA last year. He finished his rookie race at this tricky track in 13th place. With a whole lot more experience and kilometres under his belt, Manugasss can‘t help but feel that he has a shot at fighting at the front this weekend and moving up from seventh in the overall standings.

As Kohta Nozane continues to focus on recovering from his lower-back injury, Minamimoto will again be stepping in as his replacement this weekend. The Japanese rider showed great skill and bravery at the start of the Argentina GP. Despite it being his first Moto2 race, he made up 13 positions on a wet opening lap and ultimately finished the race in 20th place. COTA is again a completely new track for the Asian talent, but he is up for the challenge.

Constructed in 2013, COTA was added to the Grand Prix schedule that same year. Its length of 5513m 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 their bike‘s set-up to suit the 11 left, 9 right turns, and the 1,200m straight in order to snatch a place on the podium. The especially sharp Turn 1 will be a spot where the fans can expect a lot of overtaking action, both at the start and during the race.

The Grand Prix of The Americas is held in the GMT -5 time zone. Moto2‘s P1 will take place on Friday from 09:50 - 10:30, local track time followed by P2 from 14:05 - 14:45. On Saturday, P3 will be held from 09:25 - 09:55 and the qualifying sessions from 13:45 -14:25. On Sunday, the race starts at 12:15.



GELETE NIETO
GELETE NIETO
SPORTS DIRECTOR







Manu arrives at this third race of the season eager to improve on his position from the last GP. Manu has gained good momentum. He is very confident in himself, and his riding is improving a lot. Manu knows that this circuit is complex, so it will be important to do as many laps as possible to get into a good flow.

Soichiro will replace Kohta again in America, since Kohta continues to focus on making a full recovery from his injury. After managing to finish his debut Moto2 race in Argentina, Soichiro comes to this difficult circuit eager to continue accumulating experience. He will study last year's data to get on the bike with as much information as possible.




MANUEL GONZALEZ
MANUEL GONZALEZ







I really want to return to this circuit. I think it is one of the most beautiful places to race. After two good first weekends, I think we are in a position where small details can make the difference between taking the podium or not. The team is doing great, and we are ready to achieve what we want.




SOICHIRO MINAMIMOTO
SOICHIRO MINAMIMOTO







I‘m happy to get to work with the team again in the Americas GP. I think it will be a difficult job this weekend, because COTA is a tricky track from what I‘ve heard. But I‘m ready for the challenge again. I will do my best. I want to gain a lot of experience and have fun.

Source: Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Moto2 Team

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