MotoGP news

Gresini looking for more in Italy

The Honda Gresini team is hoping for more luck ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix. The San Carlo-sponsored team, whose riders currently place eleventh and twelfth in the championship, have scored a combined total of forty-one points so far in 2009 and are searching for more in Italy.

For Spaniard Toni Elias, the task will be more of a physical struggle than for most as the Manresa-born rider continues his recovery. "I'll be in much better shape at Mugello," he said. "Since Le Mans I've been undergoing physiotherapy twice a day so the arm feels much better. Hopefully my strength is back, too, because I need to be riding this bike on the limit in order for us to make the necessary progress with the setup." The 26-year-old is confident that the squad has been taking gradual steps up since the start of the season in Qatar and is particularly keen to impress in front of an expectant crowd of Italians at Mugello.

De Angelis hopes for a motivation boost from the Italian crowd at Mugello this weekend

"Things haven't gone our way recently but the Grand Prix of Italy is a special occasion for us and I am determined to turn things around," continued team-mate Alex de Angelis. "The new setting we gambled with in the second half of the race at Le Mans worked well, so hopefully we can take some positives to Mugello and start out with a good base setting on Friday afternoon, which is what we really need.

"I was on the podium at this circuit for three seasons in a row in the 250cc class, before moving up to MotoGP, and I had the best race of my rookie season last year, when I finished fourth. It would be great to put on a show like that again because, even though my real 'home race' is in San Marino, I have a lot of fans at Mugello too and I want to do well for them; I'm sure their presence will give me a little extra motivation to produce my absolute maximum."

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