jewel 1

MOTOGP » Italian Grand Prix - Preview

Only two riders on the MotoGP grid have won the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello - and both are Italian.

Loris Capirossi took victory back in 2000 on a 500cc Honda, but most eyes will be on countryman Valentino Rossi, who is searching for his eighth consecutive home win this weekend.

The last non-Rossi victory at Mugello was by Alex Barros in 2001. Since then Rossi has taken victory in front of his adoring home fans with Honda and Yamaha machinery, 990 and 800cc engines, Michelin and Bridgestone tyres.

But Rossi admits it's getting ever harder to keep his incredible win streak alive, and he arrives at Mugello after his first non-score since 2007, after being caught out by the changeable weather in Le Mans.

16th and last also cost him the world championship lead by one point to Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, the only double winner of the season so far, and Rossi heads to Mugello level with 2007 world champion Casey Stoner.

Short of a world championship, Ducati would give just about anything to finally win their home race and hopes are high after Stoner finished second to Rossi one year ago. Ducati's test riders, recently joined by Troy Bayliss, have completed countless laps around the picturesque Tuscan circuit, which should help speed up the set-up process.

But it is Lorenzo whose confidence is sky high and, with the pressure on Rossi and Ducati, he and fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa will be happy to work discreetly during practice and qualifying before mounting an all-out attack on race day.

Unlike Lorenzo, Rossi and Stoner, Pedrosa and Honda are yet to win a race this season, but three podiums from the past three rounds proves Dani has the potential - even if the official line is that the RC212V still needs improving.

Pedrosa is a former 250cc winner at the track, while new team-mate Andrea Dovizioso will be aiming to rise to the occasion and claim his first podium of the season in front of his home fans.

Dovizioso is presently joint fifth with countryman Marco Melandri, who claimed a shock second at Le Mans on the 'abandoned' Kawasaki ZX-RR to match the Japanese factory's best ever MotoGP finish. Melandri won the 250cc race at Mugello in 2002 and will be out to embarrass former employer's Ducati this weekend.
It will be a shock of near Melandri proportions if Capirossi, now in his second season at Rizla Suzuki, can take the GSV-R to victory this weekend, but the #65 did qualify on the front row one year ago, before fading to seventh in the race. Capirossi has finished on the Mugello podium five times, including his 2000 victory.

After crashing at the opening round in Qatar the Italian has scored consistent points and lies ninth the championship, four points behind his team-mate Chris Vermeulen.

Between Dovizioso and Vermeulen is Colin Edwards, the leading satellite rider (depending on how you classify Melandri). Edwards has shown flashes of pace in most rounds, and comfortably outpaced team-mate James Toseland, but is still to take a podium finish for Monster Yamaha Tech 3.

Just ten points separate Toseland in 13th and Capirossi in ninth, with satellite Honda riders Randy de Puniet (LCR), Toni Elias (Gresini) and Alex de Angelis (Gresini) between them.

de Angelis rode a remarkable race from last to fourth one year ago, while factory-backed Elias expects to be fit after an arm pump operation restricted his potential at Le Mans.

Of the last five places in the championship standings, all but Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda) are riding Ducatis, something the Bologna factory will be eager to address this weekend, particularly for factory signing Nicky Hayden.

One man not gaining ground will be Sete Gibernau, who will miss the race through injury, while Pramac's Mika Kallio will be aiming to replicate his early season eighth places after failing to finish the last two rounds. Fellow rookie and team-mate Niccolo Canepa should have his best chance yet, having experienced Mugello as a Ducati test rider last season.

Meanwhile, the top of the 250cc World Championship is as close as MotoGP, after four separate winners in the opening four rounds.

Just one point separates championship leader Spaniard Alvaro Bautista and Japanese Honda star Hiroshi Aoyama. Bautista is a former Mugello winner riding the Aspar Aprilia but both the two Championship leaders will be keeping a close eye on world champion Marco Simoncelli.

The Italian Métis Gilera rider failed to score points in the opening two rounds but finished on the podium in Spain, won in France and also won the race at Mugello last year. He's still 26 points behind Bautista but a repeat win would put him right back in contention.
After the 32 crashes in the 125cc race carnage in the French rain last week surely the weather will be dry for another epic encounter on Sunday.

Spaniard Julian Simon won his first race of the season to lead the Championship by 5.5 points from his Aspar team-mate Bradley Smith. Italian Andrea Iannone seeks a change of fortune in front of the home crowd. He won the first two grands prix but has crashed out of the last two races although he did remount to finish seventh in France.

No comments:

Post a Comment