This weekend the MotoGP™ paddock is back in action again as it heads to Mugello for the ninth round of the 2012 World Championship at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.

The Grand Prix also marks the halfway point of the season and the third race in a row after visiting Assen and Sachsenring. After an intense battle in Germany, where the Repsol Honda riders demonstrated a very high pace, Dani Pedrosa hopes to maintain momentum after taking his first win of the season and Casey Stoner is determined to put his crash behind him.

They are confident to be again very competitive in Mugello, a track that combines a very long straight (1,141 Km) and fast direction changes. They will be looking to make the most of the Honda engine's power at a track with the highest top speed on the calendar.

Dani Pedrosa

"I'm really looking forward to getting to Mugello and try to keep this momentum in a circuit that I also love, for the layout and the great atmosphere. It's a very demanding track physically; last year I got there very weak due to the injury and I couldn't manage a good race, but we had a nice win in 2010 and I feel good now and ready to enjoy riding there again. Mugello is a completely different track, it's important to have a very fast bike in these corners and to get our strong points out in the track, we must take profit of the power of our Honda engine."

Casey Stoner

"I've always liked Mugello, we've enjoyed some pretty good results there. Last year didn't go to plan but we know what we did wrong so hopefully this year we can be a little more competitive. I really enjoy the fast corners there. There are a lot of areas where we get a lot of wheel spin and a lot of fast changes of direction. It's not a small dinky little track that you can't use these bikes on; it's actually somewhere where you can open the throttle up and actually get to full throttle. After a disappointing race in Sachsenring, I want to get back on the bike and take some points back in the Championship."

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