2011 FIM ROAD RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX ROUND 08 JULY 1/2/3, 2011 MUGELLO, ITALY PREVIEW MOTOGP AND MOTO2 HONDA AT FULL STRENGTH FOR ITALIAN GRAND PRIX The Repsol Honda team heads to one of the most anticipated events on the MotoGP calendar in command of the championship and at full strength for the first time in four races, while the San Carlo Honda Gresini team arrives for the first of its home races hoping for a change in fortune. Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) arrives at the Mugello circuit for the Italian Grand Prix leading the MotoGP World Championship after seven of 18 races. Last week, on a perilous cold track in the Dutch TT, Stoner came second, which continued his string of podium appearances for every race he’s finished this season. Stoner has a class-leading four wins, along with a second and a third, in the quest for his second MotoGP World Championship. The 25-year-old Australian won his first championship in 2007. Though he has a 28 point lead, the season is just over a third complete and Stoner will be looking to maximize his points take in Mugello, where his record is encouraging. Stoner won here in 2009, finished second in 2008, and was fourth in 2010 and 2007, his title-winning season. The track is the third fastest on the calendar, after Phillip Island and Assen, and a rider and fan favorite. The crowds that line the hills of the Sieve Valley in the Apennine watershed will be pulling for Stoner’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V), who lives just two hours away in Forlimpopoli. Dovi arrives home third in the world championship while enjoying one of his most consistent stretches in the premier class. Over the past four races, Dovi hasn’t finished worse than fourth, including third behind Stoner last weekend in Assen. Last year Dovi produced his best premier class finish at Mugello, finishing third to race winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V). Pedrosa rejoins his team-mates for the first time since being injured at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, four races ago. Since then, he’s undergone two operations for collarbone injuries. The Spaniard is looking forward to returning to action at Mugello, a track where he’s held up Honda’s record of excellence. Pedrosa won here last year, and finished third and second in 2009 and 2007, respectively. He also won at Mugello in his 2005 250cc World Championship-winning campaign. The year before that he was second, and the year before that second on a 125. Mugello is a track that’s favoured Hondas for much of the past two decades. Honda riders have won 14 of the past 18 races, beginning with Mick Doohan’s first victory at the circuit in the Tuscan countryside north of Florence in 1993. That began a string of 10 consecutive Honda wins, with Doohan taking five in a row and Valentino Rossi winning the last two. Even before that stretch, Honda had won twice in the early 1980s, with Freddie Spencer. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) is hopeful of reversing his recent string of bad luck with home country support. Simoncelli has been one of the fastest riders this season, but that speed isn’t reflected in his results. For the past five races he hasn’t qualified worse than second, including two poles. But come race time, he hasn’t been able to translate his qualifying excellence into podium finishes. Last week he got caught out on the cold left hand side of the tyre in the first left-hander of the Circuit van Drenthe and crashed. Simoncelli re-mounted and rode to a ninth place finish on a less than pristine San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V. Simoncelli won the 250cc GP at Mugello in 2008, the year he won the championship. He also finished second in a tight race in 2009 before graduating to the MotoGP class. Misano, near his home in Cattolica, is more of a home track, but Italians are passionate about motorcycles and their riders and the personable Italian can expect a great welcome. Team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama returns to the San Carlo Honda Gresini team after riding the Repsol Honda in place of the injured Pedrosa in Assen. Aoyama has finished in the top ten in six of seven races and is eager to get back on his familiar San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V in Italy. Last year was Aoyama’s rookie MotoGP appearance at Mugello, and with a year’s experience the Japanese star should be able to get up to speed more quickly. Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) finished fifth at Mugello on his run to the inaugural Moto2 World Championship. Elias was a serial winner last year, though his return to the premier class hasn’t gone as well as he’d hoped. Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer, Kalex) hit the first bump in his road to the Moto2 World Championship in Assen. The championship leader was entering the final chicane when a little too much rear brake caused the rear end to come around. Prior to the spill, he’d won four of the opening six rounds in the ultra-competitive class that uses Honda 600cc engines in prototype chassis. Even with the first blemish on an otherwise impeccable season, Bradl arrives in Italy with a 57 point lead, 127 to 70, over Marc Marquez (Team Caixa Catalunya Repsol, Suter). Marquez hasn’t had a smooth transition from being 125cc World Champion to Moto2 contender. The 18-year-old Spaniard has been brilliant at times, winning twice, including last week in Assen, but he also has three non-finishes and a 21st on his card. Despite an up and down season, his win in difficult conditions in Assen vaulted him into second in the championship behind Bradl. Mugello will always be special to Marquez. Last year, it was here that he won his first grand prix, which served as a springboard to the championship. Starting from Mugello he won five in a row and 10 overall to clinch the 125cc title. Italian Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project, FTR) started off the season strongly with four finishes in the top ten, a series of performances that put him second to Bradl. But his last two races haven’t been as strong and he’s now fallen three points behind Marquez in the championship. The Roman has a win here aboard a 125 in 2008 and was third in his Moto2 debut last year. Mugello has always been a rider favourite, but this year promises more. The off-season brought a complete repave of the 5245m circuit, which may be enough to lift it from the third fastest track on the calendar to the second. Already it offers a superb a superb high-speed circuit nestling in a beautiful Tuscan valley, the hillsides thronged with some of the world’s noisiest, most enthusiastic race fans. And outside you’ll find some of the world’s best restaurants, and only 35 kilometres miles away is Florence, cradle of the Renaissance. The MotoGP circus always gets an extra special welcome in Italy because five of the best riders on the grid are Italian, three of whom ride Honda machinery: Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V), Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V). Mugello is the kind of fast, flowing track that really allows MotoGP bikes to unleash their awesome horsepower. The circuit is as popular with riders as it is with fans and is also reckoned to be one of the most challenging, with a thrilling blend of fast and slow turns, rapid direction changes, plentiful off-camber corners and an ultra-rapid main straight. Mugello’s complexities are further heightened by numerous adverse-camber corners which make front-tyre choice particularly crucial. Honda has enjoyed great premier-class success at Mugello, first with the NSR500 two-stroke, then with the RCV four-stroke. Honda’s Mugello NSR winners are Freddie Spencer (1985), Mick Doohan (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998), Loris Capirossi (2000) and Alex Barros (2001). Valentino Rossi won the 2002 and 2003 races on his RC211V. The Mugello event has become one of the most popular GPs since it joined the calendar full-time in 1991, first as the San Marino round and then as the Italian GP. The circuit hosted its first bike GP in 1976 but only became a regular venue after total refurbishment in the early 1990s. After Mugello the MotoGP World Championship has one weekend off before the German and US GPs on consecutive weekends. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner says: “I’m really looking forward to Mugello especially after a difficult weekend in Assen where I was extremely happy to have finished second in a very difficult race. Last year we didn’t get the best result but I’ve always enjoyed this circuit and I think this year we can expect to be quite competitive. From what I’ve heard, the new surface is a lot smoother and a lot faster which will make Mugello an even better circuit from what it already was! I’ve been excited about coming here to try it out! I’m hoping to have a good race and score important points for the Championship, but we need to keep our heads down and continue working hard”. Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso says: “I’m very curious to go to Mugello and ride there with the new asphalt. Those who tested there said that it’s unbelievably smooth. Mugello is one of the most technical, demanding and beautiful tracks in the MotoGP calendar, so I’m sure that without the bumps it will become one of the best circuits in the world. I’m happy to race in the Italian GP at this particular moment of the season: we are third in the Championship and we arrive after two successive podium finishes. We are competitive and determined to get another good result at my home GP. We have been consistent in dry and wet conditions and the team is working really well so I’m confident. Last year I was on the podium and the feeling up there is amazing, not comparable with another podium finish so I really want to repeat it. I hope there will be many spectators and that we can put on a good show! Mugello is always a special event, I enjoy every minute of it, starting with the journey to reach the Tuscan track via il Muraglione pass, a historical route for bikers!” Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says: “After missing three races, I’m happy to be back in Mugello. During this period I’ve been very focused on my recovery and after the second operation I have improved a lot. I’m really looking forward to riding the bike, getting into the groove again and to be as competitive as I was before the injury. It’s been difficult being out of competition, but that was the situation and I couldn’t do more. I have been in contact with my team during this time and I know they also look forward to getting back to normal. Together we will work to regain the highest level and fight to win races again. Mugello is a difficult circuit, very technical and demanding, and I know it will not be easy for us, but last year we scored our first win of the season there and we would like to get a good result.” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli says: “My first reaction when I came into the box after the race, as well as bitterness and disappointment, was that I had been a fool because I could have waited. I made a mistake and it cost me dearly as well as involuntarily taking Lorenzo down too. I was sorry for him but more than that I am for myself because I had thrown away a big opportunity. It was probably my biggest mistake of the season, I have reflected a lot on it and it will help me to grow. Now I just want to look ahead to Mugello with calmness and motivation. Everybody is expecting big things from me and I have to repay that faith with a positive result that will put recent history firmly behind us. I am fast, I have found a perfect feeling with the bike and I am extremely determined to prove it in a race. There will be a lot of fans packed around the hills of Mugello and I don’t want to, and cannot afford to, disappoint them. I love the track, it is one of my favourites and I won my first race here in 2008 in 250 before finishing second to Pasini in a great battle in 2009. I can’t wait to get back on track!” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Hiroshi Aoyama says: “I tried to enjoy the opportunity to ride the Repsol Honda factory RC212V as best I could but unfortunately with the mixed weather conditions Assen wasn’t the ideal place to be riding such a demanding bike. I am happy to have had the chance though and now I look forward to returning to my team and picking up from where we left off before this brief but constructive interruption.” LCR Honda MotoGP rider Toni Elias says: “Mugello is a very exciting race track but it’s very tough too. Italian fans are very warm like the Spanish ones so I really like the atmosphere there. I know this is one of the most important races for my Team but I come here to proceed my set-up work with the guys because the championship is still long and we must find a solution for the rear traction problems we have been facing since the beginning of the season. In the wet my pace is pretty good and in the last two races I could ride with more confidence but I am very worried about our performances in the dry.” Moto2 RIDER QUOTES Viessmann Kiefer Racing, Kalex rider Stefan Bradl says: “From what I’ve heard, Mugello has new asphalt, so I’m curious to see how that will affect the lap times. Otherwise Mugello has always been one of the tracks that I like. It’s a great circuit, the layout is varied and it has some relatively fast sections, which I really like. As for what happened in the race at Assen, I’ve put it behind me. As always I approach the next race in the same way we will see what happens.” Team Caixa Catalunya Repsol, Suter rider Marc Marquez says: “We get to Mugello fully motivated after the victory we achieved in Assen, which was a morale boost for me and my team after the retirement in Silverstone. Two weeks ago we had a test here that will be very helpful this weekend. It will be the first race really under the heat in Moto2, which is a class much more physically demanding than 125cc, but we are ready. It is a very technical circuit, but also a beautiful track and a lot of fun. It is a very special round ­I achieved my first victory here last year­, but we are not going to change the plan we have followed until now, race after race.” Ioda Racing Project, Suter rider Simone Corsi says: “Mugello has always been an exciting race, either because it’s one of the most fascinating circuits of the championship or because it is my home GP, therefore the hills are filled by supporters and fans. Here Italians can give that little more. I’m happy and relaxed, because I come from a good podium in Le Mans which pays back the work done by the team and realises the continuous advancements we’ve made since the first race. I’m confident I’ll give a good performance, a victory is our real aim but the objective is to continue to improve, collecting as many points as possible for the championship. We’ll have to work hard on our performance in qualification, in order to start at the front and not let anybody get away.”