The stars of MotoGP have arrived at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit for the final race of the 2008 season, which takes place on Sunday.
Last month, Italian Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi won the race in Japan, while Ducati's Casey Stoner came in second place.
Rossi claimed his sixth world premier-class title by winning the Japanese MotoGP in Motegi at the end of September. Just five days ago, Rossi won yet again at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. The Italian regained the world title with top manufacturer Yamaha after switching from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres. He and Spanish Honda rider Dani Pedrosa both say they hope the weather will improve.
Valentino Rossi said, "My technical condition is so different compared to last year, and I'm confident for the Bridgestone tyres here in Valencia, and it looks like the bike is a lot more fast. So we have to work well during the weekend. The temperature and the weather is very cold, so it's very bad and we hope coming better for Sunday."
Dani Pedrosa of Honda said, "You know it's (my) home Grand Prix, it's the last race of the season, so normally many people come to see this race, the grandstand is always full, so yeah it's quite enjoyable to see all those people there and especially if we have good weather it could be even better."
(CCTV October 25, 2008)