Following on from Alex De Angelis’ outstanding performance at Mugello, when the rookie came within touching distance of the podium on his Bridgestone -shod Honda RC212V after an outstanding charge through the field, Team San Carlo Honda Gresini head to Barcelona in high spirits and ready to produce another good showing at the Grand Prix of Catalunya this weekend.
The Spanish date is a significant one for Gresini Racing, who will contest their 200th Grand Prix at Montmelò, having started in the 500cc World Championship with Alex Barros on a Honda NSR 500 V-twin back in 1997. Over more than a decade, the squad led by Fausto Gresini have become a victorious part of the history of the World Championship.
Alex De Angelis now has his sights set on making his own history for the team, armed with the confidence provided by that fourth place at Mugello. The San Marino rider has a good record in the 250cc class at Montmelò and set the fastest lap of the race there last year on his way to second place.
Shinya Nakano’s focus remains set on a top six finish, as it has been since the start of the season. It is a target that is now within his grasp after making constant progress in recent races.
15 ALEX DE ANGELIS
“At Mugello we worked really well and got 100% out of the material at our disposition. Despite a bad start I managed to put an incredible recovery together that neither myself or my team expected! We deserved it though; we were fast in the winter tests but up until the Italian Grand Prix we haven’t managed to consolidate it. At Mugello, for the first time, I was able to take my form into the race, not just practice, and this is what really made the difference. This result gives us morale for the next few races, starting off with Barcelona. Last year I finished second in the 250 race during a really good period in my season, when I got six consecutive podiums. Obviously MotoGP is a world away from that and there is no comparison but I hope MotoGP is only the start of good things for us. It would be nice just to get six good results in a row!”
56 SHINYA NAKANO
“The Grand Prix of Catalunya takes place on another really fast track. Montmelò is a circuit I like a lot and in the past I’ve had good results there. For that reason I’m confident I can have a good race. Add to that the progress we have made recently, developing the setting of the bike and the tyres, and I can’t wait to get back out there. I finished the Italian Grand Prix in ninth place but I was very close to the group ahead of me so my objective this weekend is to get involved with them and cap it off with a top six finish.”
FAUSTO GRESINI – TEAM MANAGER
“We’re coming off the back of what was without doubt a very positive race for us. We think we’ve made a leap in quality that will continue at the Grand Prix of Catalunya because we know we can be competitive again at Barcelona. In some aspects Montmelò is a similar track to Mugello so the objective is to consolidate the result in Italy, which was the fruit of a lot of hard work from the rider and the whole team. At Mugello Alex produced a race that was full of excitement and demonstrated his talent, which I have always believed in, and I’m convinced he has the ability to continue showing that level of performance. He has also given everybody in the team a confidence boost, which we needed! Shinya has also shown that he is on the way up and at Barcelona he’ll want to show everybody what he is capable of, because it is a while since we have seen him getting the results we expect of him.”
| 
|