HONDA RIDERS AIMING HIGH AS SEASON INTENSIFIES If it wasn’t punishing enough before it is now. With four races to come in the space of just five weeks, this is when the going gets tough. The frequency of the racing is now at maximum pitch and there will be no let up now until early July with just one week off between the Dutch and German events. This makes things hard on both riders and teams with race fitness becoming as much of an issue as machine development with hardly any time to fine tune bikes between races for the specific demands of each Grand Prix and Mugello is about as demanding a track as any on the calendar. 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 the 800cc machines with the best drive out of the turns and the highest top speeds will be at an advantage here. The track has been modified for 2007 with an extra 20,000 capacity provided with new naturally sculpted grandstands at the Scarperia and Correntado turns. Of more significance to riders there is now an extra 280m of run-off at Arrabbiata One and Two. Last year Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) recorded a fighting third place behind winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and second-placed Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and one should not play down the ‘home’ advantage that Italian riders will milk for all its worth here in Italy’s motorcycling heartland. With Casey Stoner (Ducati) leading the MotoGP World Championship standings with 102 points to Rossi’s 81 points both of these competitors will be hoping to scoop the big prize here on Sunday and there will no shortage of extremely vocal fans willing them on. This effect will not be lost on Honda’s big Italian hope Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) who is now finding form on his 800cc machine as the season swings into top gear. Marco currently lies fourth overall just one point behind Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) in third. Melandri said, “It’s nice to be heading to my home race on the back of a podium at Le Mans, a result me and the whole team had worked really hard for. Your home Grand Prix is always exciting, but demanding at the same time. Mugello is one of the most technical circuits on the calendar. It will be a tough race but the mere idea of racing in front of the Italian fans is a nice boost. I still haven’t made it to the podium in the premier-class at Mugello, so to make it this time would be fantastic.” Dani said, “Mugello is always a challenging track to ride and it will be interesting to find out how the circuit feels on the new 800s. Last year was my first time here in MotoGP and the track was certainly one of the most physically demanding tracks we visit all year from a riding point of view, with many fast changes of direction. Still I was able to stay in touch with the leaders and get fourth place last year, which was a pretty good result. The long start/finish straight will make top speed a really important factor again, like in China. Some of the other teams have tested here a lot and they’ll be fast on the straight especially.” His team-mate Nicky said, “You can’t really believe the atmosphere at Mugello until you feel it and I’m really looking forward to coming back here. The fans love it and come ready for their one MotoGP race of the year, and we love riding there too. The track is about as good as it gets because its got a little bit of everything elevation changes, a long straight which normally makes the race really close because drafting is so important, and there are a lot of fast changes of direction which are critical to a good lap. The surface is starting to get a little bit worn and bumpy so it’s definitely important to have the bike set up to soak up the bumps well.” “Mugello is a very technical track,” said Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V). “A lot of changes in direction make it physically demanding. From a riding perspective it is one of the most difficult on the whole calendar. Last year I made a good recovery from 12th on the grid to finish seventh, and this season I’m aiming much higher. The test at Le Mans confirmed the great job we had done throughout the weekend on the race setting for dry conditions. We did a good race simulation so I was happy about that but Mugello will be a completely different challenge.” Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) said, “Mugello is effectively Konica Minolta’s home Grand Prix so I will give my maximum all through the weekend. People are always talking about my Mugello crash from 2004, which happened down the very fast start/finish straight. I still remember and it was very fast! Sure it was scary, but the track holds no fears for me. I’ve returned to the track since then and this year will be my first at Mugello with my new team, new bike and different tyres. We know what our problem has been so far this year I can’t carry the corner speed I want, but I do believe we can do better at this race.” Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) said, “I’m pretty confident about the Italian Grand Prix. Michelin is giving us a very good support and in France we tested different rear tyres to improve rear-end stability. We’re now very competitive in the mixed part of the track but we’re still a bit short of power for Mugello. I know this is an important race because our Team is Italian and there will be a lot of fans to support us. Then, after Mugello, there’s my home race in Catalunya and I’m really excited about that too.” Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR212V) said, “We have Kurtis (Roberts) riding a second bike for us at Mugello. And we’re looking to Kurtis to give some solid feedback. He’s a rider the team understands and we can interpret the feedback he gives us. The baseline set up of the KR212V is the thing this weekend and with two bikes out there it will speed things up a little.” In the 250cc class Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) Will be hoping his home crowd can give him a lift as he chases series points leader Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia). Lorenzo has 120 points to Dovi’s 88 at this stage of the season. Dovi said, “I like Mugello, it’s amazing racing here because it’s so fast. Unfortunately I’ve never had the satisfaction of winning here, but I hope to do that this weekend. It won’t be easy, the fight will be at the maximum level but I’ll give my best for all the fans.” Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) said, “Mugello is a track where top speed has a huge influence and we’re going to work as hard as possible to try to be on top, with the leading group. I like the track and although it’s the most difficult of the Championship, we are really looking forward to racing here.” “We did not achieve a positive result last year in Mugello,” said Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW). “But it’s a fast circuit and I like it a lot. I hope to feel better with my knee because it hurt a lot during the last race. I just have to get a better result than in France and I have to improve the feel of the bike.” The injured Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda RS250RW) is on the mend and said, “I was back in Italy last Thursday and I immediately began rehabilitation. The operation was a success, even if the wrist still hurts. On friday we’ll decide if my condition allows me to race. I hope better luck is on the way for me.” The 125cc category is currently the preserve of Lukas Pesek (Derbi) and Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia). This experienced duo head the standings with 91 points and 82 points. But Honda’s Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) is on the rise after a third place in France and the youngster is aiming to repeat the feat here in Italy. Smith said, “Of course the whole team is feeling positive after Le Mans, but we will put all that behind us and just concentrate on the race at Mugello. We’ll treat it just like any other race and we’ve already started getting prepared and checking on the telemetry from last year. It’s been a busy week because I officially left school on Friday although I still have a couple more exams to do.”