MotoGP news

Nakano hopes to do well in team's home race

Konica Minolta Honda heads home for round six of the 18-round MotoGP series as they return to Italy and the legendary Mugello racetrack. With almost a third of the season already complete, the team is hoping for a good showing at their home circuit, which starts a run of four races in a busy four-week period.

The team rider Shinya Nakano said about the upcoming race: "Mugello is effectively Konica Minolta's home GP for the team so I will give my maximum all through the weekend! People are always talking about my Mugello crash from 2004, which happened down the very fast start-finish straight. I still remember and it was very fast! Sure it was scary, but the track holds no fears for me as since then I have returned to the track and this year will be my first at Mugello with my new Team, new bike and different tyres.

"We know what our problem has been so far this year - I can't carry the corner speed I want, but I do believe we can do better at this race. I like the track a lot and if you find a good setting you can enjoy it. It's a high-speed track, so if your bike isn't set up so well then it's not so easy to get a good lap time! I won the 250cc race here in 2000 and I rate that as one of the best races in my career. So why shouldn't we aim for a good result on the 800?"

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