Italy GP. Previous Info

Rossi and Fonsi will try to increase their advantage in Italy
Fifth round of the 2002 World Championship, and Italy promises to be a very contended Grand Prix, not only due to the interests of the local riders, but also due to Fonsi Nieto’s actual position as leader of the overall classification, which he will try to keep or increase in Mugello. In MotoGP, Valentino will race at home and will try to get the much longed-for victory in his home country. Since he moved up to the highest category, Rossi hasn’t been very lucky on this circuit. Two years ago he ended up in a far back twelfth place, his worst result in this category, and last season he crashed out while fighting for a place on the podium. For his teammate, Tohru Ukawa, Italy won’t be an easy Grand Prix either. He knows that if he wants to try and reduce differences with Valentino Rossi in the overall classification, he will have to try and win his hardest rival at home. This weekend promises to be very intense for the Repsol Honda MotoGP team. In the 250cc, Fonsi Nieto will have another chance to increase his advantage in the overall classification. The brave Repsol rider has had two opportunities for the moment, i.e. Spain and France, and he has been able to make the most of both. In Italy everything will be more complicated and the local riders, with the support of their fans, will give their rivals a hard time; Melandri, Battaini and Locatelli will probably be the two riders to beat at this Grand Prix. And, while Fonsi arrives with the objective of remaining in the lead of the overall classification, for Toni Elias this race will mean continuity, a race in which he will try to keep the same line of progression he showed in France. His excellent performance in France, third fastest lap of the race, and his result, sixth, show that Elias is capable of finding a good setting for his bike, and that he will soon be ready to give more than a surprise. Daniel Pedrosa keeps on working quietly, getting on the podium every time he can despite his mechanical inferiority, and collecting points without taking any risk if the situation doesn’t ask for it. With this approach, Pedrosa is currently fourth in the overall classification, three points away from the third placed and twenty-five from the provisional leader, the Frenchman Arnaud Vincent. Alberto Puig’s other pupil, the young Joan Olivé, wasn’t lucky in France. After a good start and making the twelfth fastest lap of the race, Olivé lost any possibility for a good result when his front tyre lost grip and he ended up on the gravel.