After four races the World Championship is approaching the most intense part of the calendar, and this weekend the race is at one of the most attractive circuits in the programme, at the same time it is also one of the most intense in the championship. The circuit of Mugello, about 50km to the north of Florence, is the venue where Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will be fighting to get their first victory of the season.
The atmosphere in the beautiful Tuscan valley where the circuit of Mugello lies, created by thousands and thousands of fans on motorbikes, in cars and caravans, make the Italian GP into one of the biggest parties of the season. A fiesta where the Repsol riders will try to play a leading role, making more progress after getting better and better in each of the first four races of the 2009 season held so far.
As the races have come and gone Pedrosa and Dovizioso have been able to refine the set up on their bikes and take the right steps on their way towards the top of the overall classification. At the demanding track of Mugello the Spanish rider will seek his first victory of the year, he was third last year. His teammate, who almost got his first ever podium finish with the Repsol Honda Team at Le Mans, will once agin be in the mix this weekend, and what is more in front of his compatriots.
This weekend`s race will give Marc Márquez a chance to make up for what happened at Le Mans; he was fighting for second position when he was knocked off his bike after a rival fell just in front of him. The Repsol rider goes to Mugello with renewed spirits, showing that he is one of the most in form riders in the 125cc category by gettting the pole position in France. Esteve Rabat will not be lacking motivation either, he was 5th in the race two weeks ago but made a mistake that made him drop down to 11th.
His teammate, Scott Redding, also sees the Italian GP as a chance to show that he can be one of the fastest in the 125cc category. After fighting for second position in Jerez and finishing 6th, and fighting to get on the podium at Le Mans but falling, the British rider has demonstrated that he will be able to battle it out with the best riders throughout what is left of the 2009 season.
For Cameron Beaubier, this weekend`s race is still a bit of an unknown since the Repsol rider is still recovering from the fall he had two weeks ago. Beaubier has had to rest for ten days after a check up, when he arrived back in Barcelona, confirmed that he had a cracked bone in his left arm, close to the wrist. He will travel to Mugello but the decision about whether he is fit enough to go out onto the track will not be made until the Friday before the first free practice session.
Dani Pedrosa
“The race at Mugello is always a special one because the circuit is really challenging and the fans are so passionate about racing. I’m going there in a good frame of mind. We’re heading into the busy part of the season and our position in the championship standings, considering the problems I had over the winter, really isn’t too bad. Plus I was pleased with my pace in France, which proved to me that my physical condition is improving and I can go fast right to the end of the race. That’s an important point for Mugello because it’s a physically demanding track to ride, especially in the fast direction changes, and you want to be at full strength to be able to ride aggressively there – which you have to do in some parts of the track. I think it will be a tough race because it’s the home event for my team-mate and for many of our rivals – plus some teams have tested here quite a lot. But I’m looking forward to the challenge. We must continue to work on our machine package and get the maximum possible result.”
Andrea Dovizioso
“I really look forward to the GP of Italy. Mugello is a unique place in terms of atmosphere and, although it’s part of the World Championship, for me it’s an event that stands alone. It’s like a kind of ritual with so many memories from previous years: Tuscany, the colours and smell, the people, the food and the passion of the fans. Mugello itself is a track that requires a lot of respect. It’s important to get into the right rhythm from the very beginning of the lap, but that’s not easy. You need to find the correct flow from chicane to chicane and then you’re faced with the most demanding part of the circuit: the three turns Casanova Savelli, Arrabbiata One and Two. Although I’m Italian I don’t actually ride much at this track because we don’t test here, so we come back after a full year away. We know the key places where we have to get the set-up right but it always takes a while to master the track again. There are a lot of fast changes of direction and that means riding here requires a lot of physical energy. It’s bumpy too which complicates things further. As an Italian rider, the support of the fans gives me an extra drive, and the hour before the race is really special. It’s important to use that boost to lift your performance and that’s what I’ll be aiming to do on Sunday.”
Marc Márquez
“I am really dying to race because I want to get rid of the bad taste left in my mouth after the result I got in the race in Le Mans. After getting the pole position my motivation is even greater, because we saw that we could be very competitive. We will try to put in some good practice sessions, although we already know that the circuit of Mugello is difficult. You need to do many laps before you find the way to tackle it, but it is a very long circuit and that means that it is not easy. It will be important to get the right set up for the fast corners, which together with the changes of direction are the most important features on this circuit. It is a circuit that has a bit of everything, slopes going up and going down, and you have to get a good traction if you want to get away fast. Last year I took quite bit of time to to get the bike set up, although we will work a lot to get the right set up this year, a good lap time in qualification, and so be able to fight in the race with the leading group.”
Esteve Rabat
“This is a very fast circuit that I like a lot, and I am very eager to race there because I think that we have improved in the last two races. I hope that I can take the final definitive step to get among the leading group, because the engine is working very well, the team is working very hard too and that means I can ride a lot more confidently. It will be important to have a good set up for the corners so that we can maintain the same high speed, but I have a good feeling about this because the Aprilias always go well at this circuit.”
Scott Redding
“I have a good memory of last year`s race because in the session when there was rain I was second. On the other hand in the dry, with the long straight that there is at Mugello, I was a little lost and things did not go too well. The race was not all bad news though and I finished 14th, but I think that this year it will have to go a lot better because we are more competitive on the new bike and I have more experience as well. I am pleased with that and we will work so that we are in the leading group once and for all, after all we have demonstrated that we can be up with the fastest riders.”
Cameron Beaubier
“I feel fine, better than a few days ago. Yesterday the splint was removed and I now have a rigid protector that I can take off to do some exercises. I have had ten days rest and we will not know whether if I can in fact ride until the Friday. I will go to Mugello and we will make the decision there depending on how I feel. This time it is not a new circuit for me, that is because I rode there two years ago in the Rookies Cup, but back then it rained all the time and we only rode in the wet.”
