Marco Simoncelli is looking on his fifth place result at Mugello last time out as a launchpad for his upcoming weekend in Germany. A positive if not entirely satisfactory result at his home Grand Prix has given the Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider fresh confidence after the mishaps of Silverstone and Assen and now ‘Super Sic’ is sure he can confirm his potential as a MotoGP frontrunner. Simoncelli confirmed his good form with the second fastest time of a post race test at Mugello, when he lapped just 0.096 seconds shy of Casey Stoner – a promising sign ahead of the next race at a circuit where Simoncelli celebrated 250cc victory in 2008 and 2009, whilst last year during his rookie season he finished a creditable sixth.
Hiroshi Aoyama returned to the team at Mugello following his brief excursion on the factory Repsol Honda Team RC212V at Assen and whilst he endured a tough weekend as he continued to recover from injuries sustained in a crash in Holland he enjoyed a positive test and is looking forward to Sachsenring.
Marco Simoncelli:
“Mugello was definitely a positive weekend with a positive end result although I wasn't completely satisfied. It was important to get to the end of the race without any dramas and put the misadventures of Silverstone and Assen behind me. The test on Monday was also positive – we tried some solutions that could help us overcome the problems we had in the race at Mugello, where I seemed to struggle more than the others with a loss of grip due to the increased track temperature. Overall the visit to Mugello has given me confidence and motivation for the next round in Germany. Sachsenring is a circuit I like a lot, I have always been fast there in 125 and in 250, in fact I won the 250 races there in 2008 and 2009. Last year I had a good race in MotoGP, battling for fifth place. My objective is to do my best along with the team and try to improve on the result from Mugello.”
Hiroshi Aoyama:
“After the experience at Assen on the factory Repsol Honda Team RC212V I struggled a little bit to get a feel for my Team San Carlo Honda Gresini machine at Mugello. To complicate matters I was still in a lot of discomfort from my crash in Holland but I gradually got back on the pace and with the help and dedication of all the guys on the team we came out with a satisfactory result. The test on the following day was much more positive with a view to Sachsenring. I actually missed the race there last year through injury so I have to go back to my 250 days for my last experience there. I was on the podium in 2005 and won the race in 2007 but the difference between 250 and MotoGP is too big to predict what kind of feeling I will have for the track with this bike.”
San Carlo Honda Gresini press release
