TIM Grand Prix of Italy 2013

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Nick Harris

ROUND FIVE 2013 MotoGP™ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - SUNDAY JUNE 2

Oxfordshire rider Bradley Smith rides a MotoGP bike for the first time at Mugello where he won the 125cc race in 2009. He finished ninth at Le Mans and will be looking to push closer to the leaders, as he has done in every race this year, in the 23 lap race on Sunday.

PEDROSA MARCHES INTO MAGNIFICENT MUGELLO
Dani Pedrosa marches into the magnificent Mugello circuit this weekend leading the MotoGP World Championship after four rounds of breathtaking racing. The Repsol Honda rider arrives at the 3.259 miles Mugello circuit nestling in the Tuscan hills above the City of Florence with a six point lead in the championship after back to back wins at the two previous rounds at Jerez and Le Mans.

The Spaniard, who has secured both 250 and MotoGP victories at Mugello, can expect a massive challenge from his young team-mate Marc Marquez and the Yamaha trio of Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and the in form Cal Crutchlow. Twenty year old Marquez has made a sensational start to his MotoGP career. Four podium finishes including victory in Austin puts him just six points behind Pedrosa going into the 23 lap race at Mugello where he has won both 125 and Moto2 races.

It’s a massive race for the factory Yamaha riders Lorenzo and Rossi following their poor results at Le Mans. Lorenzo has won the MotoGP race for the last two years while national hero Rossi won seven successive MotoGP races between 2002/ 2008. Lorenzo is 17 points behind Pedrosa in the championship while Rossi slipped to fifth behind Crutchlow. The British rider on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha took his best ever MotoGP result with a second place at Le Mans and will be fighting for another podium finish on Sunday.

It’s a big home race for the Ducati duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden especially after some encouraging results in Le Mans. They were fourth and fifth respectively and know Mugello better than most because it is the Ducati test track. Spaniard Alvaro Bautista will be looking to step up towards the podium after three sixth places in the opening four races on the Go&Fun Gresini Honda while last year’s Moto2 winner Andrea Iannone makes his Italian MotoGP debut on the Energy TI Pramac Ducati. His team-mate former World Superbike Champion Ben Spies hopes to return after missing the last two races.

The pressure mounts on former Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl after crashing the LCR Honda in the three grands prix this year while Aleix Espargaro should continue to dominate the CRT battle on the Power Electronics Aspar ART bike on which he has led the way in the opening four races.

MUGELLO FACTS AND FIGURES
Circuit Length: 5.245kms
Width: 14m
Pole Position: Right
Longest Straight: 709m
Left Corners: Six
Right Corners: Nine
Pole Position Record: Dani Pedrosa/Honda1.47.284 (2012)
Lap Record: Dani Pedrosa/Honda 1'47.705 (2012)

TELEVISION TIMES
BBC/BRITISH EUROSPORT
Saturday 1 June
11:30 – 15:05  Qualifying Red Button and British Eurosport 2

Sunday2 June
09:45 – 12:20  Moto3 and Moto2 races Red Button and British Eurosport 2
12:30 – 14:15  MotoGP race BBC2 HD