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The Fiat Yamaha Team head
to their home track of Mugello this weekend, which lies
just a couple of hours drive south of their European
base close to Milan. They arrive in Tuscany flying high
at the top of the MotoGP World Championship standings,
with Jorge Lorenzo just ahead of Valentino Rossi on
points. The riders have three wins and a further three
podiums between this season.
The 23-year-old Lorenzo is in dominant form, having won
the last two races in Spain and France to take his
MotoGP win tally up to seven since 2008. The Spaniard
enjoys the high-speed Mugello circuit, where he won in
2006 on the way to his first 250cc title. He crashed out
on his Italian Premier-Class debut in 2008 but in 2009
he recovered from a sighting-lap crash to take a strong
second and get a taste of all the usual Mugello mayhem
from the podium, when the fans traditionally storm onto
the track to flood the finish straight.
Reigning World Champion Rossi has an unequalled record
with his beloved Mugello having won there nine times in
fourteen years, which included an extraordinary run of
seven consecutive victories to 2008. Last year he had to
be content with a slightly different view from the
podium in third place but he will be out for win number
ten this weekend as he bids to close the gap to his
team-mate, which currently stands at nine points.
The spectacular Mugello circuit is one of the fastest in
the world, with the 1,141m main street tempting the
800cc bikes to speeds of over 320km/h, before braking
into the awesome downhill right-hander. The track is
also one of the widest on the calendar and boasts some
high-speed chicanes and frequent changes of gradient. It
generally brings about some superb racing, all played
out in the unrivalled atmosphere created by the
fanatical Italian fans who throng the hillsides to cheer
on their heroes.
Jorge Lorenzo - "The best circuit in the world"
"Last year Mugello was one of my best races! I crashed
in the warm-up lap, but otherwise it was almost perfect
and I was so happy to get on the podium. The sessions
and the race were amazing because the weather kept
changing. For me, Mugello is the best circuit in the
world, joint with Phillip Island. It's a classic circuit
with many ups and downs and an incredible atmosphere. I
have had a great start to the season and once again our
aim will be to be strong from the first day and get on
the podium."
Valentino Rossi - "An incredible place to ride a
motorcycle"
"After another rest I hope my shoulder is fully
recovered and that I will be back to full strength for
Mugello, my home race. We had some problems in Le Mans
so we will be working hard from the first session to
make sure that we're back to our best. Mugello is an
incredible place to ride a motorcycle, there is nowhere
else like it in the world with all the tifosi around the
hills and when you go out for the first lap the sound is
something amazing. I always look forward to racing there
and I hope we will be in good shape this weekend."
Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Lorenzo) - "A close
team"
"Jorge is riding in a very mature and focused way, and
now he goes to Mugello which he loves and which is the
home race for many of our team. Our team is very close
now and working very well together, Jorge trusts us to
make the right decisions for him and we have seen the
rewards of this partnership in the first three races.
We're looking forward to Mugello and we will be aiming
for the podium once again."
Davide Brivio (Team Manager, Rossi) - "Our home race"
"Mugello is our home race and it's always fun to go
there for all the team. It's a special place with an
incredible atmosphere and all the fans make a huge
party. It's one of Valentino's best tracks, even though
he didn't win there last year for the first time in
years! He's had some more time to recover from his
shoulder now and we will be working hard from the first
session in our team to be as strong as possible."
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