Marquez and Pedrosa head to Italy poised to strike back
After a difficult weekend in France, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa are en route to Mugello looking to reclaim important Championship points.
In Le Mans, Marc was engaged in a fierce battle to claim 4th place and his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, fresh back from injury crashed in the early laps but demonstrated his strength to remount his Honda RC213V and complete the race to test his physical condition.
Just 30km north east of Florence, Mugello was first opened in 1974 and at 5.245km in length, it’s one of the longest tracks on the calendar.Through its mix of nine right-hand turns and six lefts – some fast, some slow – changes in radius, camber and gradient, Mugello is one of the most popular circuits among Grand Prix riders, and its 1.141km straight is also the longest.
Marc has been victorious in Mugello in all three classes – 2014 in MotoGP, 2011 in Moto2 and 2010 in 125cc. Dani celebrates eight podium finishes in Mugello including two victories – 2010 in MotoGP, 2005 in 250cc – and will be hoping his condition has improved further since the French GP almost two weeks ago.
Marc Marquez
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 4TH – 69 POINTS
“We are very motivated after the weekend in Le Mans and arrive in Italy in good shape. We must work hard from Friday to find a good setup as Mugello is a complicated circuit, however, I like it and have good memories from my first victory in 2010. We know Valentino will be very strong at his home race, Jorge and Dani have a good history there and Ducati were testing there just a few weeks ago, so we will have to be focused all weekend.”
Marc Marquez Statistics
Date of Birth17/02/1993
BirthplaceLleida, (Catalonia) – Spain
Height168 cm
Weight59 kg
HobbiesMountain Biking, Video games
Racing Number93
First Race1998 “Enduro per nens”
Grand Prix Debut2008 125cc Portugal GP (KTM 125 FRR)
GPs raced119
GP pole positions53 (14 in 125cc, 14 in 250cc, 25 in MotoGP)
Total GP podiums71 (14 x 125cc, 25 x Moto2, 32 x MotoGP)
Total GP wins46 (10 x 125cc, 16 x Moto2, 20 x MotoGP)
First GP Win2010 125cc Italian GP (Derbi RSA 125)
World titles4 (1 x 125cc – 2010, 1 x Moto2 – 2012, 2 x MotoGP – 2013, 2014)
Previous Results in Mugello2014 1st (MotoGP), 2013 DNF (MotoGP), 2012 5th (Moto2), 2011 1st (Moto2), 2010 1st (125cc), 2009 5th (Moto2), 2008 19th (125cc)
Dani Pedrosa
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 15TH – 10 POINTS
“Even though we didn’t get a great race result, the outcome from the weekend in Le Mans was positive! The arm was better than I expected and now we head to Italy – after a further two weeks of recovery – looking to make another step. Mugello is a very fast track and you must work hard from the first session to find a good setup for this circuit. The fans always make this a special race so I hope I can do a good race for my fans and my team.”
Dani Pedrosa Statistics
Date of Birth29/09/1985
BirthplaceSabadell, (Catalonia) – Spain
Height160 cm
Weight51kg
HobbiesCycling, Motocross, Windsurfing, Cinema
Racing number26
First race1997 Pocket bike race
Grand Prix debut2001. 125cc Japanese GP, Suzuka – (Honda RS125R)
GPs raced229
GP pole positions45 (9 in 125cc, 9 in 250cc, 27 in MotoGP)
Total GP podiums134 (17 x 125cc, 24 x 250cc, 94 x MotoGP)
Total GP wins49 (8 x 125cc, 15 x 250cc, 26 x MotoGP)
First GP win2002. 125cc Dutch GP, Assen – (Honda RS125R)
World titles3 (1 x 125cc – 2003, 2 x 250cc – 2004, 2005)
Previous Results in Mugello2014 4th (MotoGP), 2013 2nd (MotoGP), 2012 2nd (MotoGP), 2011 8th (MotoGP), 2010 1st (MotoGP), 2009 DNF (MotoGP), 2008 3rd (MotoGP), 2007 2nd (MotoGP), 2006 4th (MotoGP), 2005 1st (250cc), 2004 2nd (250cc), 2003 2nd (125cc), 2002 4th (125cc), 2001 23rd (125cc)