Italian GP - MotoGP

Alex and Troy back on favourable ground in Mugello

Three of the four grands prix to have taken place up to now have been affected
in some way by bad weather. It could well be that the precedent is set to change
at the Italian Grand Prix this coming June 5th, with current forecasts
predicting sunshine, and temperatures rising above the 30o mark. For the teams
it means they can make the most out of every practice session to get the bike in
shape for the race, an objective which is safe in the capable hands of the Camel
Honda riders and technicians who are something of experts at the Italian track.
In four of the last five years the squad have had at least one rider on the
podium in Mugello, including a Barros and Capirossi one-two in 2001, and two
third places for Biaggi in the past two seasons. Troy Bayliss also has a good
track record in Italy, just missing out on the podium last year, coming home
fourth by under three-tenths of a second.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"Mugello is a track where our team has taken some good results; a win in 2000
with Capirossi and then the following year's double, with Barros on the top step
of the podium. Alex hasn't had too much luck in the last two races, with the
penalty in Shanghai and the crash in Le Mans, but he has constantly shown that
he has good pace and is in form. The team knows the Tuscan track well and they
know how to get the best out it from a technical point of view, so there is a
good chance we can return to the kind of form showed in Portugal. I'm also
confident about Troy's chances, after he found various tyre and set-up solutions
at Le Mans in the test we ran after the GP. He was satisfied with the work and
is feeling more confident now. I hope for a great day of sport on Sunday, in
front of the fantastic Italian crowd."

Alex Barros #4:

"After Le Mans I went to Brazil for a couple of weeks, where I have undergone
lots of physiotherapy to recover from the back pain I've been suffering from
after the crash in France. I still haven't got rid of it completely, so I'm not
moving freely, but I'll only find out whether I can ride at 100% or not once I
get on the bike. I am obviously hoping that I can be in decent shape, because I
love the track; it's fast and technical, and one of the best in the world. I
know that I've ridden in worse physical conditions than this though, so I'm
intending to be up there with the Italians on Sunday, because they are always
highly motivated to go well there."

Troy Bayliss #12:

"The tests we did in Le Mans after the race went well, and I left France more
happy with the answers we found. On Sunday we'll ride at Mugello, a track I
really like and where I have lots of experience. The race was great there last
year, I enjoyed myself and even though I haven't ridden the Honda there before,
I'm sure I can put in a good race on Sunday."