2006 MotoGP Italy
Mugello Circuit
June 4, 2006

Text and Photos Courtesy MotoGP, Kawasaki, Yamaha Racing, Team Suzuki and World Superbike.  Edited by webBikeWorld.

Race Results: Rossi Gets It Done
The dramatic scenery of the Mugello circuit in Tuscany provided the backdrop to one of the most exciting MotoGP races in living memory today as Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi clinched his second victory of the season in a heart-stopping Italian Grand Prix.

The local hero produced one of his best ever performances in front of the adoring 89,200 crowd, emerging from an intense battle with his compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and a host of other riders to take the checkered flag with a 0.575 second advantage after 23 laps of pure drama.

Rossi got an excellent start from the front row of the grid, passing early leader Sete Gibernau (Ducati) on the first lap and attempting to escape a hungry chasing pack.  However, the Spaniard refused to lie down and after a brief battle between the pair the Italian took control to lead for ten laps.

Capirossi soon recovered from a bad start and by lap fourteen he was in the hunt for the lead, passing both Gibernau and Rossi, who dropped back to fifth place as Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden (both Honda) also came through.  Within four laps Rossi was back on Capirossi's tail and the pair went head-to-head in a thrilling finale, which saw the Yamaha rider snatch the lead on the last lap and open out a crucial gap that carried him to the line.

Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards, meanwhile, battled through another tough race after being run wide into the gravel on the second lap.  The Texan fought back from last place to finish in the points in twelfth place but has lost ground in the championship, dropping to eighth.  Rossi's win moves him up to fifth overall, 34 points behind leaders Capirossi and Hayden, who are currently tied on points.

In addition to the activity on the track, Valentino's dance around the Mugello hills were enjoyed today 1,500 Yamaha fans at the Factory's Materassi stand.  Every time the Yamaha riders passed the Yamaha tribune, the sound of the engines was accompanied by a standing ovation from a sea of yellow.

Valentino Rossi (1st; 42'39.610):  "That was for sure one of the toughest battles of my entire career.  I got a really good start and after I passed Sete I tried to escape but it was impossible, he was so strong today.  For a long time I didn't know where Loris was because he had a bad start but once he arrived I knew I was in for a hard fight.  I decided to let him pass and run behind him for a while but I didn't realize so many other riders were so close and they all came through!  Suddenly I was down in fifth and had it all to do again."

"It was just an amazing fight for everybody and I think it is fantastic that it went down to the final lap between two riders, two factories, two tire manufacturers but just one Country!  This is great news for our sport.  If I had to bet on who would win the last lap I honestly wouldn't have been able to choose.  I don't think I took a breath over the last two laps but I made it and I am unbelievably happy.  To do it in front of so many fans, family and friends is a special emotion and I won't be thinking about the championship tonight - just this wonderful race."

Qualifying
Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will start from the front row of the grid for the first time this season in tomorrow's Grand Prix of Italy after the home hero set the third quickest time in today's single qualifying practice.

The session took place under a blanket of thick grey cloud, with cool ambient temperatures of 16ºC and just 18ºC on track, but the threat of rain held off and the teams and riders were afforded crucial dry track time as they adjusted their machine set-up ahead of tomorrow's 23-lap race.

Rossi's best lap of 1'49.167 came on his penultimate effort and was inside his previous pole record here by almost a tenth of a second.  However, it wasn't quite enough to dislodge Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi (both Ducati) from the top two grid spots as the Spaniard took his first pole position of the season for the Italian factory.  After falling behind with set-up work due to adverse weather conditions yesterday, Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards was unable to make up for lost time today and he could only manage the 14th fastest time, meaning he will start from the middle of the fifth row tomorrow.

This afternoon Rossi will present a brand new R6 in unique Yamaha MotoGP colors to Marco Ponti, from Gallarate in the Varese region of Italy, who took part in a contest as part of the 'Yamaha Open Weekend.'

Valentino Rossi (3rd - 1'49.167; 26 laps):  "It is a good feeling to be back on the front row - I don't think I've been there since Phillip Island last year so it is a long time and I'm glad it came here at Mugello.  For sure this is one of my favorite tracks and with all my fans, family and friends here I really want to get a good result.  The front row is important for this because in the past few races I have had to fight really hard at the start of the race to pass riders so hopefully I can get a better start tomorrow."

"We're not on pole but Michelin and Yamaha have worked really hard to improve our performance on a qualifying tire and this is a big step forward.  Anyway my race pace is quite good so I hope to give my fans a lot of reasons for a party tomorrow night.  My new helmet design is by a famous Italian cartoonist called Milo Manara.  He has drawn a kind of mythical story of my life, with some of my heroes like Steve McQueen, Enzo Ferrari and Jim Morrison, with other characters like my dog Guido, Osvaldo the chicken and lots of beautiful women!  I really like it and Milo is somebody I have admired for a long time."

Race Preview
Yamaha - The Camel Yamaha Team heads into its home Grand Prix this weekend looking to turn a stuttering start to the season into a consistent challenge for MotoGP World Championship honors.

The fast and flowing Mugello circuit in Italy presents an entirely different challenge to the tight complexities of recent tracks such as Le Mans and Shanghai and both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards hope it can also deliver a similar contrast in the fortunes that have followed them around the world during a dramatic opening five rounds of the campaign.

Rossi, in particular, is keen to get his fifth title defense back on track in front of his adoring Italian public.  The Tavullia-born superstar, who was last week honored with the 'Spirit of Sport' award at the prestigious Laureus Sports Awards, is aiming to add another prize to his trophy cabinet by claiming his fifth consecutive victory at the Mugello circuit.

Edwards is equally focused on the top step of the podium after again demonstrating winning potential at the last round in France. 

The American was forced into the gravel in the first turn but he battled through from last place to take sixth overall and finish just eleven seconds down on the race winner.  Like Rossi, he knows that if things play in his favor this weekend it can be a glorious return home for the Monza-based team.

Mugello Circuit Details:  At 5.245km, the Mugello circuit is one of the longer contemporary MotoGP circuits, in no small part due to the fact that it has retained its original length and layout.  Running across two sides of an impossibly scenic Tuscan valley, Mugello differs from other fast circuits in its frequent changes of gradient and the speed of its chicanes.

There is a mix of slower and high-speed corners, although even the slowest corners are wide, allowing several 'ideal' lines and putting the emphasis on rider skill as well as chassis set-up precision.

"Mugello is a very technical track," explains Daniele Romagnoli, Colin Edwards' Italian Chief Mechanic.  "Chassis set-up is perhaps the most important thing but you also need a good engine for the straight because there is around 950m with the throttle fully open.  The gearing is also important at this point - you need small gaps between fourth, fifth and sixth gear to get the most out of the engine.

"Generally it is a very complex track and the rider can make the difference.  It has a very hard braking into turn one, where the riders go from around 330km/h to just 85km/h.  Then there is a sequence of 'esses' where it is important to have a bike that has good turning capabilities and agility.  There are some quick changes in direction, with uphill and downhill turns, so you need a good compromise with the set-up to make it turn well in both types of corner."

Romagnoli adds that the delivery of a new chassis for Edwards at this round could not have come at a better time.  "The new chassis has improved the performance of the front end of the bike, particularly in terms of turning and stability on corner entry.  It has also improved the chatter problems that we have experienced and this will be crucial at Mugello because there are some very fast corners and a lot of lateral load on the bike."

Valentino Rossi:  After failing to score points at the last two rounds because of freak tire and engine problems, Rossi now trails series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) by 43 points and lies eighth in the championship - his worst ever start to a World Championship season in any class.  However, with a typical air of optimism based on confidence in his unrivalled ability, the Italian refuses to consider defeat at this early stage of the season and says this weekend is the ideal time to turn things around. 

"Mugello has been very good to me over the past few years - it is a very special race and this season it is even more important than ever," admits Rossi.  "I have had some incredible emotions there over the years and it is always a very busy weekend for me, but it is crucial that we maintain our focus on the job because we have to be at 100% if we want to win again.  The new chassis worked well at Le Mans and we have some good data from the test to improve it at Mugello so I have reason to be confident."

If Rossi did go on to win the title this year he would be the first rider ever to do so having had only one podium finish in the first five races of the year.  It is the kind of challenge he relishes.  "We have had a lot of bad luck but I don't think 43 points is such a big gap when there are still twelve races left," he says.

"It will be difficult to win them all but I will settle for taking eleven wins and one second place! When you look at what has happened to us this season, mostly things out of our control, I probably lost 25 points in France, 16 in China and 14 in Jerez so if it wasn't for all that I would be in a much better situation in the championship now. I think we showed our true potential last weekend and it is just a matter of our luck changing now. Mugello would be the perfect place for that."

Colin Edwards:  Colin Edwards has more than one reason to look forward to Mugello, both on and off the track.  During a grueling run of races visiting all corners of the globe over the last two months the Texan has not had much chance to see his young son Hayes, but the baby, who was born in December, will be making his first visit to Europe this week and staying on the road with the whole family during the upcoming run of races on the continent.

The proud father hopes family life on the road can provide the foundation to a series of positive results.  "Hayes will be coming over with my daughter Gracie and my wife Alyssia so obviously I'm really looking forward to that," admits Edwards.

"I love being with the family and living out of the motorhome instead of traveling all over the place staying in hotels.  I find it helps me to focus on my performance on the track and hopefully it can give me an extra edge this weekend.  That is the most important thing and at this stage of the season, with the way things have gone recently, we need every advantage we can get."

Another plus point for Edwards this week will be the delivery of a new chassis for his YZR-M1 machine, used by Rossi with positive results at the last round in Le Mans.  "My bike has been the same since Turkey and whilst I have got comfortable with it now I think we have reached the limit in some areas.  I did thirty laps with the new chassis at the Le Mans test and I could clearly see the extra potential.  Now I'll have one from the start at Mugello and so that's something for us to get our teeth into from the first session and see how far we can go."

Kawasaki:  Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet arrive in Mugello for this weekend's Gran Premio d'Italia Alice determined to put the disappointment of Le Mans behind them.

Although de Puniet's race ended at the first corner in Le Mans, where he was the innocent victim in a chain reaction started by Valentino Rossi's overtaking maneuver on the entry to the new chicane, the 25-year-old Frenchman heads to Mugello full of confidence after an impressive performance during practice and qualifying for his home Grand Prix.

De Puniet suffered some ligament damage to his back in the Le Mans crash, but returns to racing at Mugello fully fit, after undergoing treatment on the injury in Paris immediately after the French Grand Prix.

For Shinya Nakano the Italian Grand Prix has proved a difficult race in the past. The fastest crash ever recorded in MotoGP two years ago was followed by a hard fought tenth place in the race last year, but Nakano arrives this time around confident that the new Ninja ZX-RR will be better suited to the 5.245km, ultra-fast Mugello circuit.

Nakano will be aided in his quest for a strong performance in Sunday's 23-lap Gran Premio d'Italia Alice by a new fairing on his Ninja ZX-RR, designed specifically to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of Kawasaki's MotoGP machine.

Designed by Kawasaki engineers in Japan, in conjunction with the same Institute of Technology involved with aerodynamic development of both aircraft and the famous Japanese bullet train, Sinkansen, the new fairing should offer some advantage along Mugello's 1100 metre main straight, where aerodynamic efficiency can have a big impact on top speed.

Randy de Puniet: #17:  "I remember nothing about the Le Mans crash, but it was very disappointing not to finish in my home Grand Prix.  I suffered some ligament damage in my back, but this is now okay and I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike at Mugello.  Despite the crash at Le Mans I am confident ahead of this weekend's race.  In France we made some big steps with the bike, as could be seen by my lap times in practice and qualifying, and I hope that we can continue at the same level this weekend in Italy.  I like the Mugello circuit a lot, and I think we can put in a good performance here this weekend."

Mugello Lap Record: Max Biaggi (Honda) 2005 - 1'50.117

Mugello Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'49.223

2005 Results
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 42'42.994 2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda, +0.359 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, +3.874

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