HONDA'S Dani Pedrosa says that this weekend's MotoGP round at Mugello is one of the most important of the year.
The pint-sized pilot, currently joint-second in the championship with Jorge Lorenzo - the pair just being three points behind Valentino Rossi - said: “ We made some positive forward steps when we tested at Le Mans after the race, so we will be working hard to get back up front at Mugello. We have many races over the next few weeks, so it's important to get into a good rhythm and maintain that rhythm. Mugello is a great circuit in an amazing valley full of atmosphere. The circuit is one of the most complicated in the Championship. It's a very high-speed track, so if you want to be fast you need to concentrate 100percent everywhere and take a lot of risks. You need as much corner speed as possible and you need a very stable bike that's also fast through all the direction changes.”
Both Pedrosa and team-mate Nicky Hayden will race with the conventional race motor while Honda test rider Tady Okada, 41, will take part in the race with the pneumatic-valved engine. It will be the new motor's race debut before undergoing more tests with Pedrosa and Hayden.
Okada said: “My last Grand Prix was at Phillip Island in 2000, so it's more than seven years since I last raced in GPs! I'm really looking forward to Mugello - the long straight should suit my machine with the pneumatic-valve engine. I scored some good results on 500s at Mugello. I finished on the podium in 1999 but in 1998 I was battling for the lead with Mick Doohan when I high-sided and broke a wrist.”
original article
Dani Pedrosa: This weekend is vital - Visordown Motorcycle news : Racing news
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