Revved up for Mugello
Post categories: Motorsport
| 15:00 UK time, Friday, 1 June 2007
The MotoGP season is starting to get very busy indeed, with this weekend, the next and then a week's break before the big one - the British Grand Prix at on 24 June. Then we move on to in Holland, and in the US to come, before a well-earned summer break.
This weekend we’re at the Mugello circuit, deep in the heart of Tuscany. It's a picturesque place, at least until 130,000 . They camp in the hills around the circuit and have to be seen, and more importantly heard, to be believed. It’s an all-night party which seems to involve an endless revving of bikes. And it’s not just bikes. This lot even bring engines without the bikes, just to add to the noise.
It also means it’s impossible to get out of the circuit on Sunday night. The first year the TV team stayed in Florence, which is about 60 miles away, and it took a ridiculous nine hours to get back to our hotel! Now, we stay closer to the track and leave the cars in a nearby village, then walk for about an hour to get in. And people think this life is glamorous!
Mugello is also the "home" circuit of the two riders battling it out at the top of the championship and it promises to be colourful.
In the yellow corner, , who has won here for the last five years, will be supported by his loyal fan club, who are also responsible for his spectacular post-race celebrations. has to be one of my favourites.
In the red corner are the Ducati fans. The team is based in Bologna, just an hour down the road, and their new signing tops the standings by 21 points. , finishing a lowly sixth, afflicted not for the first time this season with tyre trouble. The five-time champion will be looking to re-establish his title credentials here. There have been a few sporting spectacles lately that have failed to live up to the hype, but whatever happens here on Sunday it definitely won’t be dull.
Our team go home on Monday morning and we will have just enough time to put our kit through the wash before heading back out to Barcelona. The Catalunya Grand Prix attracts huge crowds who will no doubt be cheering for local boy .
He was tipped by many as the one to watch this season. And although he has struggled with the new Honda, he still . However, this has definitely turned into a year to forget for his team-mate - the world champion is down in 11th place and was devastated by a crash two laps from the end of Le Mans which denied him a fourth-place finish and 13 valuable points.
Catalunya last year will be remembered for abecoming entangled with team-mate Loris Capirossi. It sent them both flying into the gravel along with Marco Melandri, Dani Pedrosa and Randy de Puniet. Hopefully this year’s race will be less eventful.
Now, I’m not sure if it’s global warming or we’ve just been unlucky but, yet again, as I write this it’s cold and there are threatening clouds overhead. It’s Italy in June for goodness sake, and so far I’ve spent this season being cold and wet at pretty much every track to which we've been. We even had showers in Qatar. Hopefully the sun will be shining come race day. Whatever, the action on the track will definitely be hot!
