READY FOR THE HOME GRAND PRIX
PREVIEW GP ITALY
After splashing his way to the podium in the treacherously
wet conditions of Le Mans, Marco Melandri is ready to wind
the throttle open at one of the fastest circuits in the world:
Mugello. Spurred on by the passionate home support, Team Honda
Gresini arrive at their home Grand Prix ready for another
exciting new challenge. Melandri's objective is to repeat
or even improve his best result of the season in front of
his own fans, who are sure to pack the beautiful Tuscan hills
surrounding the circuit.
Toni Elias, meanwhile, was able to put his unfortunate race
crash in France behind him with two days of positive tests
at Le Mans. The combative Spaniard is highly motivated and
fully focused on getting back to the run of good results he
had started in the previous races.
The Honda Gresini pair currently lie fourth and eight respectively
in the championship: Marco has 61 points - just one less than
fellow Honda rider Dani Pedrosa in third place. Toni has registered
35 points so far.
Marco Melandri : "It's nice to be heading
to my home race on the back of a podium at Le Mans, a result
myself and the whole team had worked really hard for. Your
home Grand Prix is always exciting but demanding at the same
time - in fact, Mugello is one of the most technical circuits
on the calendar. Over the two days of tests in France we worked
a lot on suspension although we still didn't fully solve the
problems I've been having in corner entry. It will be a tough
race but the mere idea of racing in front of the Italian fans
is a nice boost. I still haven't made it to the podium in
the premier-class at Mugello, so to make it this time would
be fantastic. As far as tyre choice is concerned, at Mugello
we'll be using a similar construction to Le Mans but with
a different compound in order to cope with the technical demands
of the track."
TONI ELIAS : "Mugello is a very technical
track with a lot of changes in direction, which makes it physically
demanding. From a riding perspective it is one of the most
difficult on the whole calendar. Last year I made a good recovery
from twelfth on the grid to finish seventh, and this season
I am aiming much higher. The test at Le Mans confirmed the
great job we had done throughout the weekend on the race setting
for dry conditions. We did a good race simulation so I was
happy about that but Mugello will be a completely different
challenge.
THE TRACK: Just a few kilometres from Florence,
the hills of Mugello are adorned by the trail of one of the
most beautiful race circuits in the world. Both spectacular
and technical, Mugello is a circuit where the rider can make
the difference at any point on the track. It is characterised
by changes in elevation, super-fast "esses", off-camber
corners and an extremely long front straight.
MUGELLO: THE SHOW IS READY TO START
Many changes have been made to the Autodromo del Mugello
this year in the name of innovation, hospitality and safety.
A new welcome centre designed in the shape of a helmet will
greet the fans on their arrival at the circuit. The innovative
design is set to become the new symbol for the circuit, which
is owned by Ferrari, whilst the journalists will also get
to enjoy the facilities at a new media centre. One of the
biggest changes is the safety run-off at Arrabbiata 1: 11,500m²
of gravel with an average run-off of 30m. Now the run-off
at Arrabbiata 1 & 2 has merged to make one, measuring
an extra 280 metres.Huge natural grandstands have been created
at the Scarperia and Correntaio corners. In total some 20,000
extra bums will be on seats this year - 8,000 at Materassi,
3,000 at Correntaio, 5,000 in the main grandstand and 4,000
at Poggio Secco.Tickets sales have been excellent, with almost
all grandstand tickets now sold and the remaining 'grass banking'
entries expected to be snapped up too.
|
