ROUND FIVE PROMISES TOUGH TUSCAN SHOWDOWN At a quarter way through the season, this race at the splendidly picturesque Mugello track will determine if anyone can significantly dent reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi’s 37 point lead in the World Championship points table. Main challengers Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) and his team-mate Marco Melandri have posed the biggest threat to the Italian champion and are most likely to be Rossi’s biggest concerns this weekend too. Gibernau finished second to Rossi here last year and the Spanish hope knows nothing less than a win in this challenging arena will do if he is to wrest the World Championship initiative from his fierce rival Rossi. Melandri won here on a 250 in his 2002 World Championship winning season and with his impressive form on the RC211V this season, he cannot be ruled out for a maiden MotoGP class victory here this weekend. At least 70,000 Italian fans will 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. Rossi, Melandri, Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati) can all be sure of fanatical support from at least one section of the crowd. Nestling in the hills, Mugello is a high-speed carousel of a track, with rolling, cambered turns and a 210mph 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 fight 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. Sete Gibernau has his work cut out for him here and knows it. “Last season the Mugello race was one of the best of the year,” he said. “We were quickest on both Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions. I hope to do the same good work this year too. The Italian riders are extremely competitive on their home track, but they’re also under a lot more pressure. On our side, we have to take advantage of that tension. It’ll be a very challenging weekend, but at the end of the day, it really isn’t very different from any other race.” Sete’s stable-mate Marco Melandri is more concerned with the technicalities of the track than any pressure: “The secret of a good lap here at Mugello is to get into a rhythm, to be fluid while taking the corners but without being too aggressive. The part that makes the biggest difference is the downhill ‘S’ and the Arrabbiata corners. It’s vital to ride these sectors well to make a quick lap. The only negative thing about this track is the tarmac it’s really uneven in parts.” Max has to get his season started here with a win. The Roman factory Honda rider has been out of sorts so far and the pressure is on him to perform. “At Mugello I have always ridden great races and I really hope that next Sunday the positive result my team and I are looking for will come. We’ve been working hard and we deserve much more than what we have picked up so far. I’m also looking forward to seeing my fans as always at the Casanova Savelli hill. I would really like to give my team and my fans something to smile about and myself too.” His team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) has only accumulated 26 points from four races and he too is under pressure here. “Although the last race was not too good we had a good test right after and I’m hopeful we found some things that should work well here. We qualified here OK last year but I crashed out in the race so we didn’t make the finish. The schedule is pretty mad in June with three races so it’ll be important to start the month well and get a good momentum.” Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) won here in 2001, and is more than capable of another win this weekend and said, “After Le Mans I went to Brazil for a couple of weeks, where I did a lot of physiotherapy to recover from the back pain I’ve been suffering after the crash in France. I still haven’t got rid of it completely, so I’m not moving freely, but I’ll only find out whether I can ride at 100% or not once I get on the bike. I hope I’ll be in decent shape, because I love the track; it’s fast and technical one of the best in the world. I’ve ridden in worse physical condition than this, so I’m planning to be up there with the Italians on Sunday.” His team-mate Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V) has not quite got to grips with his machine yet, but the Aussie will be more than capable of getting back to form here. “The tests we did in Le Mans after the race went well,” he said. “I left France much happier with the answers we found. On Sunday we’re at Mugello; it’s a track I really like and I’ve lots of experience there. The race was great last year. I really enjoyed myself and even though I haven’t ridden the Honda there before, I’m sure I can put in a good race on Sunday.” The hard-charging Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) has been sidelined for much of the early season with injury, but will be a force to be reckoned with. He said, “Too much time has passed from the last time I stepped onto my RC211V to compete in a Grand Prix. This is the fifth round of the season, but I was unfortunate in the first Grand Prix of the year in Jerez. I hope my right hand won’t trouble me because I want to compete with the best and get some points. It’s clear that from now on I have to go on the attack. This is a key moment of my career and the team will be back even stronger than before.” In the 250cc class reigning World Champion Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) has regained the series points lead from the astonishing Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) who only trails him by four points in his rookie season. “These past two weeks have been a good chance to relax and recover strength,” said Dani. “It’s going to be a hard race in Italy and Dovizioso won’t be the only rider out there with plenty of motivation I’m sure Porto, De Puniet and Stoner will all be at the front too. At Mugello it’s difficult to get away because there is a long straight where the Aprilias could have an advantage, and a lot of fast corners. I don’t know why but I’ve always found it difficult here.” Dani’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) finished ninth here in his debut season last year and knows things will only be slightly easier for him this year. “This weekend is going to be a very tough race, he said. “Mugello is one of the most difficult circuits in the world and it’s very fast. I want to do well in practice and qualify at least on the second row of the grid, otherwise it’s going to be very difficult to go with the lead group.” Dovi believes there is more to come for him in terms of machine set-up and said, “I like this Circuit and with the 125cc I was very fast, but the problem is that Aprilias are very fast here too and riders like Stoner or Porto can make the difference. For me it’s the first time with a 250cc on all the tracks and I feel that my Honda is very fast but feeling from it is not perfect yet: I’m trying to keep in touch waiting for more feeling in the second part of the season. Pedrosa is not only fast but he’s got a lot of confidence in his bike and this is what I need more of now.” Hector Barbera (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) and his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) have not quite made the impact in 250s that Dovi has yet, but both have nonetheless impressed in their rookie years. Barbera said, “Mugello is a really nice track and I like racing there. I’m improving my riding style on the 250 and getting used to the machine. There will be a lot of fast riders at Mugello but I believe I can run at the front with the fastest on Sunday.” “Mugello is in a nice environment,” said Lorenzo. “And it’s a beautiful track but not one of my favourites. I have never been able to take a good result at Mugello, but now I’m getting better on the bike with every race I’m sure I will continue to progress and have a good chance of taking a good result this time.” In the 125cc class the return to form of Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) has seen the young Swiss win his first race and he is now challenging series leader Mika Kallio (KTM) for the overall advantage. He lies just eight points behind him with Fabrizio Lai (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125RW) in fourth, 17 behind the points leader. Lai said, “I like this circuit because it’s really technical and I like difficult things. I hope to find a good setting for my Honda but, sure, we’ll have some problems on the straight because the Aprilias are very fast here while the Hondas are not quite as quick.” Mike Di Meglio (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125R), who finished fourth in France, said, “After the good race in Le Mans I need another good result…. and it’s possible because I very much like Mugello. The Honda is very different from the Aprilia and I’ve spent four races trying to learn how to get the best from the bike. Now I’ve increased my confidence and I can stay with the strongest riders in the races.”