James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) will find a familiar face on the other side of the team’s Monza pit garage as his regular teammate Karl Muggeridge (Winston Honda Ten Kate CBR1000RR) returns to race action after injury. Having suffered compression injuries to two vertebra during official tests at Valencia, and having to miss the subsequent Valencia race itself, Muggeridge is making his return at one of the Honda riders’ most eagerly awaited circuits. Toseland, currently third in the championship fight, found Valencia just as hard a challenge as all observers expected, and finished only 9th and 11th. He looks to Monza as a path back to the form, which has already delivered him a race win in the opening round at Qatar. Another rider ready to step up to podium status once more is Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR), who will taste Monza for the first time in his nascent World Superbike career this weekend. The multi-MotoGP winner is out to build on his double Phillip Island Superbike podium, and with new engines all ready to go for Monza, he will be in with a great chance of scoring impressive points totals. The DFX Treme Honda squad will be without the talismanic figure of Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) once more, as the 41-year-old Italian rider recovers from the broken pelvis he suffered in testing at Misano in mid-April. His replacement Gianluca Nannelli (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) is primed and ready to go at one of his favourite circuits, and will line up alongside SBK rookie, Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) for the second time this year. Fabrizio has enjoyed a top five finish already and the impetus of a home race is expected to make up for what was a tough Valencia round for all Honda riders. Toseland, in his first year on a 1000cc four-cylinder machine, sees Monza as an opportunity to get his championship challenge firmly back on track. “I really like the Monza circuit,” stated the 2004 champion. “In the last couple of years I have stepped on the podium in three out of four races and therefore I am determined to continue this “tradition” especially now that I’m racing for the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team. But there is another reason why I want to do well in Monza: what happened in Valencia must remain an isolated incident. If we want to try to win the title we have to stay in the top positions at every race. This is why we have to think of Monza as a form of revenge. It’s also important because I’ve got a lot of supporters, and I don’t want to disappoint them.” Happy to be back at the centre of the Superbike world again, after extensive therapy in Australia and Europe, Muggeridge is ready to score his first points since round one in Qatar. “I am looking forward to getting back on the bike at Monza and I think everybody can understand why,” said Muggeridge. “I believe that not participating in the Valencia race was the right decision because I needed to get back to my best physical shape after the hard fall in the test. Now I feel good, I never stopped training and I am also mentally ready to do well. I hope to post good results right from Friday’s free practice, and it would be good for my morale to try and take a good result at one of my favourite tracks.” An unexpected dip in Spain should be overturned in Italy for Barros, with the Brazilian rider ready to take on the high speed Monza track, and its frequent hard braking for the safety-inspired chicanes. “The long and fast Monza race track is the complete opposite of Valencia with its vast array of slow corners, ultra-fast sweeps and rapid changes of direction,” said Barros. “Monza is a perfect circuit for the Honda Fireblade and I’m confident we will come off well after the upcoming weekend in Italy.” Fabrizio was top Honda scorer in race two at Valencia, but he wants to be top scorer of all at Monza, despite his team-mate Chili being once more forced out. “I am very happy for race two of Valencia, even if my motorcycle’s potential is much higher than the performance it gave in Spain,” said Fabrizio. “I hope to find optimal grip conditions at Monza to take advantage of my bike’s good maximum speed. In Monza my team leader (Frankie Chili) has always obtained top results, and I am keen to ride really well and dedicate this race to him.” With more Supersport experience at the top level than Superbike, Nannelli is looking to translate his unquestioned prowess on a middleweight machine to the full Honda-powered Fireblade package, and score his first points of the year. “For me, Monza is a great circuit because I love high speed,” said a plainly excited Nannelli. “My Honda allows me to keep up with the top riders. I only need to improve my qualifying performances to do better in the races. At Monza the “Nanna” will be very, very fast!” After Monza, the Silverstone circuit in England forms the venue for the fifth round of the 13-round SBK and WSS series.