No matter how much riders insist they ride equally hard at every track there is usually a ‘home’ track factor that counts in favour of riders competing in their own countries. Italian Giacomo Agostini won the first race held here in 1976 and Valentino Rossi has won the last four races here too. In between those years there have been multiple wins for Honda legends Freddie Spencer and Mick Doohan but the last five podiums have featured at least two Italians. The 2005 rostrum was a clean sweep for Italian riders. Current World Championship series leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) knows he has to stem the tide of Italian winners here on Sunday to give his title challenge fresh impetus after he failed to make the rostrum in France two weeks ago. The American had, until Le Mans, shown the consistency that marks out true title contenders with eight rostrum finishes on the trot. He needs to rediscover that form and a successful weekend in the backyard of the reigning World Champion would be a perfect tonic for the Kentucky Kid. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) has tasted success here in the 250cc class with a win last year and his rapid acclimatization to MotoGP in his rookie season suggests that similar success is by no means out of the question. He now knows precisely how to achieve it after his victory in China. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) will be aiming to repeat his win in France and the Italian will rank among the pre-event favourites to score maximum points here. He is so far the only man this season to have scored two wins and his second place overall in the World Championship points table is fully deserved. He won here in 2002 on a 250 and just missed out on a podium place in 2005 on his first season on a Honda RC211V. He will be highly motivated both by legions of fans and by the prospect of taking control at the top of the World Championship standings if he wins. Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) rides here for the first time on a 990cc machine and the genial Aussie has the added spur of representing his Italian-run team at their home race. He finished second here in 2004 on a 125. For Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) this is a race where his season could either take a huge leap forward or condemn the buoyant Spaniard to the middle ranks of the points table. After five rounds he lies seventh with just under half the points tally of his team-mate Melandri. But he has finished as high as fourth in the opening round in Spain and only once been out of the top ten finishers. He has the talent for a podium here and it would be no less than his Italian-run team deserves. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) has been showing signs of improved form lately with a sixth and a seventh at the last two races. Again, his Italian-based team would like nothing more than another leap forward in form from the Japanese ace. Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) will again be looking to take development of his Honda-powered machine forward here. With three races this month closely followed by three in July, now is the time when big improvements in chassis performance will pay dividends. All riders will under the gaze of more than 70,000 hardcore Italian race fans who flock to the Tuscan hills to cheer on their ‘home’ riders. In a sea of colour, various troupes of fans camp out in specific areas to cheer on their riders. Just 30km north east of Florence Mugello is a high-speed carousel of a track, with rolling, cambered turns and a 215mph 1141m main straight. At 5.245km it’s among the longer tracks too. Racing here tends to be close with spectacular slipstreaming action along the main chute and epic close-quarter fights in the turns, nine of which are right-handers, six left. Rhythm is the key to a fast lap here and a race rhythm over the 23-laps of the MotoGP contest will be crucial. It is also a ‘power’ circuit and so the Honda riders need have no worries about being short in that department here. “I’m really excited about going to Mugello because it’s an awesome place to race,” said Hayden. “The Italian fans really love their Grand Prix racing and it’s just an exciting place to be. The track is really good to ride and with that long straightaway drafting comes into play which usually makes for a close race. It’s an important one too, going into the summer, because we’ve got a lot of races coming up.” Dani said, “Mugello is one of the most complicated circuits we race on. It has a lot of variation: slow corners, fast corners, elevation changes and there are quite a few bumps that make the suspension set-up critical. It’s a really challenging track and was very physical to ride on a 250, so on a MotoGP bike I think it will be very tiring. But I’m really looking forward to it.” Stoner likes the layout and said, “Even though this is LCR’s home race I’m not feeling any extra pressure and Mugello is a track where I’ve always been fast I rate it as one of two best tracks in the world, up there with Phillip Island. The Italian Grand Prix is always a tough race because of the warm weather and the physical demands of the track, but I’ve been training hard.” Marco Melandri said, “The victory at Le Mans was a huge emotion, the best possible ‘antipasto’ before my home race. To head back to Italy straight after a win is fantastic even though Mugello will be a completely different story. My home race in front of so many supporters will be difficult because there are so many potential winners but I am one of them and I am ready to fight for the podium.” His team-mate Elias sai, “Mugello is a very technical track that requires good physical preparation because of the frequent changes in direction. In terms of riding it’s one of the most difficult tracks on the calendar. This year will be my first time there with a MotoGP bike last year I was unable to take part because of the broken wrist I sustained at Le Mans. I don’t have any references so hopefully I can find a good base setting quickly and adapt well to Mugello.” Tamada said, “The Mugello track is for sure one of my favourite. The endless front straightway and fast bends make it fantastic to ride at. The data we got during the last two Grands Prix gave us interesting information and I think we are very close to reaching the best technical balance on our RC211V. I feel the Italian Grand Prix as my second home race and I can’t wait to get on track.” Roberts said, “We have been working to finish the last modifications we have to make to the new chassis we brought to Le Mans. We are getting there I can run deeper into the turns with this bike. We are at maybe 80% of where we need to be but I think we will be closer this week at Mugello. If it doesn’t rain again.” In the 250cc class series leader Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) takes to the track with massive support and the Italian will be aiming to increase his points advantage over closest rival Hector Barbera. But Mugello is also home track to the Aprilia factory and it will be going flat out to provide its riders with as much speed as possible here. This race should prove an intriguing factory and individual battle between the in-form Honda riders and the Aprilia men. Dovi said, “The start of the season has been positive so far, even though I haven’t won yet, but it’s very important to lead the World Championship with a 14 points advantage. Honda dominated the whole podium at Le Mans, but it will be harder at Mugello as it’s a fast track and favours the Aprilias. But, as always, I’ll do my best with my bike, which is a competitive machine.” Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW), currently tenth in the standings said, “After the podium finish in France we have to continue to follow the same working line in Italy. I don’t know the Mugello circuit, only from video games, but everybody is telling me that it’s a very difficult and demanding circuit, both as regards the mechanical aspects and the rider. I hope to be able to make another good weekend to thank for the excellent job my team is making. The most important thing will be practice.” Dovi’s team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) said, “This is not a favourite circuit for Honda, but my team and I are very motivated after the victory at Le Mans. After the race in France, I went back to Japan where I celebrated my first success along with my family and friends. I feel well and in good shape and the atmosphere inside the box is perfect, so there are all the ingredients for a good result even at Mugello.” Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) is now back on top form in the 125cc class after a turbulent start to his season. He won in France two weeks ago and the Swiss World Champion is upbeat about his chances at a track where he finished second last season. He said, “I like the track at Mugello and with the bike working so well we hope for another good result after Le Mans but it will be tough I think any one of eight riders could win in Italy.” Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) said, “Last Thursday I was shooting an advertisement with a Honda production bike, when I crashed out at the first curve. It’s strange as there wasn’t grip and suddenly I was high-sided. I hurt my left shoulder but, luckily, nothing broken. I feel pain, I’m doing lots of physiotherapy and I hope Doctor Costa will help me to be 100% ready for the Italian race.” Rookie of tender years, 15-year-old Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) said, “It looks like a difficult track lots of hills, lots of bits and pieces. I’ve been on the Playstation, watching DVDs and trying to get an overall feeling before I actually go. It’s never the same until you’ve ridden it but you get an overall idea.”