The Fiat Yamaha Team faces the first half of a transatlantic double-header this weekend as the MotoGP World Championship heads to Germany for the tenth round of the season, followed immediately by a trip to the USA for round eleven. The two races are separated by just seven days and a distance of some 9,400 kilometres, representing a gruelling final push before the four-week summer break.

The Sachsenring circuit traditionally produces close racing and Valentino Rossi has unsurprisingly been involved over recent years, starring in some of the most exciting MotoGP race finishes of all time. The most memorable was in 2006, when the Italian stormed from eleventh on the grid on his Yamaha to lead home the closest top-four ever in MotoGP, separated as they were by just 0.307 seconds. Rossi, who is set to break Max Biaggi's record of 201 consecutive Grand Prix appearances this weekend, has had three other victories at Sachsenring in all classes and he is keen to add to that tally as the season crosses its midseason equator with Dani Pedrosa on the top of the standings - just four points clear of the Italian.

Rossi took time out of his training schedule last weekend to visit Misano for Yamaha Fest, where he was joined for the first time by his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. After recovering his confidence with two sixth place finishes in the last two rounds, the 21-year-old Mallorcan is relaxed and ready to re-ignite his challenge for the top positions at a circuit where he has only once previously made the podium, in the 250cc race in 2006.

Located in the heartland of the former East Germany's once glorious motorcycle racing industry, the Sachsenring is built right next to the old road course, a characteristic the track shares with Brno in the nearby Czech Republic. The second shortest track on the calendar features a series of tight and relatively slow corners juxtaposed with some dazzlingly fast ones - including a stomach-churning downhill right hander which was added in 2003.

Valentino Rossi - No more mistakes
"Last year in Sachsenring I made a mistake and crashed, and at the last race in Assen I also made a mistake, so I hope that I've now had my bad moment for this year! Sachsenring has been a great track for me in the past and it's a great place to race at; it's very tight and twisty but it generally suits the Yamaha very well and in 2006 I had a fantastic race there, winning from 11th. We are going there having lost our championship lead but we're only four points behind so the situation is certainly much better than it was at this point last season. I was disappointed with myself in Assen because I missed a great chance but I have put that behind me and I am completely focused on the next race now. We need to be at 100% from the first practice and hopefully we can have a good weekend with no more mistakes!"