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NEWS
MotoGP preview: Mugello
Following his disastrous last-lap crash at Sachsenring, Casey Stoner will be out to make amends at the classic Mugello circuit in Italy on his factory HondaDespite being taken out at Assen and finishing second in Germany, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo heads into this weekend’s Italian GP at Mugello at the top of the leaderboard, some 14 points clear of his nearest rival. Lorenzo, who is still nursing an injured ankle from his crash, will undoubtedly be focussing on his 2011 Mugello effort, in which he won in stunning fashion.
Heading into the last race it was Repsol Honda Team’s Casey Stoner who was his main challenger, but after a scintillating win at the Sachsenring, it is Stoner’s teammate Pedrosa who lies second in the championship, and he’s in ominous form. Stoner, however, was the main talking point after last weekend, after an uncharacteristic crash saw him drop vital points in his championship bid. Despite his self-confessed "win it or bin it" attitude to the race, the Australian will be looking for a solid points finish in Italy to claw back championship positions.
Behind Stoner, there's likely to be another triplet of Yamahas comprising Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, as well as Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies. Despite Crutchlow seemingly having the upper hand on outright pace, it’s Dovizioso who is winning the race battles so far, having taken his third podium of the season last time out. Dovizioso also beat Stoner to second spot on the podium at his home track last year.
Spies, on the other hand, has struggled to match his teammate’s pace and has had his work cut out for him with the satellite bikes. He has, however, improved drastically from his difficult start to the season, and will be looking to take yet another step forward at Mugello. The Ducati Team heads into its home round with expectations heaped upon it, yet it will no doubt remain realistic about its chances, as it’s still far off the other factory bikes. It will, however, take heart from the fact that Valentino Rossi, a nine-time winner at Mugello, recorded his best result of the season in the dry in Germany, and that both him and Nicky Hayden were able to do battle with a satellite Honda and Yamaha machine.
Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá will once again be looking to mix it up on his satellite Ducati, while Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham is likely to be replaced once again by Ducati test rider Franco Battaini, as the Czech rider continues to recover from injury. A final decision will be made shortly.
San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista has now served his penalty for the Lorenzo shunt in Assen, and will once again be able to contest qualifying at the Italian round. He looked strong in Germany as he fought his way to seventh place after starting from last on the grid.
LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finished a tremendous fifth at his home race, and will be hoping to go one further again, as he looks ever more comfortable on board his satellite machine.
The CRT field continues to be headed by the dominant Power Electronics Aspar Team with Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaró, yet NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards made a big step forward in Germany, and looks to be back on form. As usual, they will be joined by Speed Master’s Mattia Pasini, San Carlo’s Michele Pirro, Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci, Paul Bird Motorsport’s James Ellison and Avintia Blusens’ duo of Yonny Hernandez and Iván Silva.
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Written byBikesales Staff
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