MotoGP Preview - Grand Prix Of Italy - May 28, 2009

EVENT: Grand Prix of Italy
WHERE: Mugello Circuit, Mugello, Italy. Circuit is 3.259 miles (5.245 km), with 15 turns. Race is 23 laps.
WHEN: Sunday, May 31. It is the fifth of 17 events this season.
2008 RACE WINNER: Valentino Rossi, by 2.201 seconds over Casey Stoner
2008 POLE WINNER: Rossi, 1 minute, 48.130 seconds
U.S. TV: 4-5 p.m. (ET), Sunday, May 31, SPEED

THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Colin Edwards (Houston, Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Ducati Team) will compete in this race. Edwards is seventh and Hayden is 15th in the MotoGP standings after four races this season.

•Colin Edwards: “It’s a good track. Between the track and the fans, it’s one of those places that it’s hard to explain. It has so much culture, as well. It’s back in the woods, out in the middle of nowhere, seemingly. It’s just awesome. It is a great event. It always has been. All those things combined: culture, history and atmosphere. It’s definitely one of the races that everybody looks forward to going to just because it’s Mugello. All the track really is is just a load of chicanes kind of placed together. Bike agility is the biggest factor to running Mugello. You want to have that thing flicking left to right as easy and effortless as possible, and with confidence. You can have the bike flick left to right, but it needs to plant itself instantly.”

•Nicky Hayden: “It is going to be really nice for me to race at Mugello as a Ducati rider because I can remember from past seasons seeing all the fans dressed in red and cheering on their riders from the grandstand. It is an honor and a privilege for me to now be a part of this team and this tradition. I hope with all my heart that I can be competitive because those fans don’t deserve to see a Ducati at the back. The track is awesome. There are maybe a few too many bumps, but the layout is incredible and, in general, it is one of the best GPs of the whole championship. I’d really like to have some better results on the board and be going into the factory’s home race with some more experience under our belts, but we are making progress and now I hope we can make a good step on Friday so that we can build on it over the rest of the weekend.”

THEY SAID IT: “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 colors and smell, the people, the food and the passion of the fans.”– Repsol Honda Team rider Andrea Dovizioso about riding in his home Grand Prix

FAST FACTS: Six-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi will aim for his seventh consecutive premier-class victory at Mugello in his home Grand Prix. Rossi began his streak in 2002 … Despite his amazing record at Mugello, it’s one of only two circuits on this year’s schedule where he has not turned a fastest lap in the MotoGP class. The other circuit is Laguna Seca in California … Marco Melandri revived his career and the fortunes of Kawasaki in MotoGP with his second-place finish for the Hayate Racing Team in the Grand Prix of France on May 17. It was Melandri’s first podium finish since finishing second for Honda in the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix. The result at Le Mans also equaled the best-ever finish for a Kawasaki in MotoGP … It took Melandri 12 races last season with Ducati to reach 41 points. He already has 43 points this season in just four races with Hayate … Melandri also joined Alex Barros and Loris Capirossi to record podium finishes for three different manufacturers since the MotoGP formula was introduced in 2002 … American Colin Edwards finished fifth last year at Mugello, his best MotoGP result in six starts at the track … American Nicky Hayden’s best finish at Mugello was third for Honda in 2006, the year he won the World Championship … This will be Hayden’s first Italian Grand Prix riding for Ducati, the iconic Italian manufacturer … Hayden needs to finish in the top 12 at Mugello to become the 16th rider all time to reach 1,000 career points in the premier class … Mugello is one of just four circuits on this year’s schedule where Ducati has not recorded at MotoGP victory. The others are Indianapolis, Estoril and Le Mans … Ducati and Yamaha have dominated the 800cc era of MotoGP, combining to win 35 of the 40 Grands Prix since the formula was introduced at the start of the 2007 season. Ducati has 18 victories, Yamaha 17 … American Cameron Beaubier will continue his first season in the 125cc class at this event. Beaubier, 16, from Roseville, Calif., is tied for 24th in the World Championship standings after four races this season for the Red Bull KTM 125 factory team.