Mugello awaits for Pull&Bear Aspar Team

2017-05-30 20:54
The Mugello circuit this weekend marks a third distance in a 2017 MotoGP World Championship that sees Maverick Viñales arrive in Italy as the championship leader once again after a late crash for his team-mate Valentino Rossi in France. The Spaniard's closest current rival is now Dani Pedrosa, who lies seventeen points behind his compatriot, with Rossi some 23 points back. Viñales boast three wins from five races so far this year, with the others going to Pedrosa and Marc Márquez, as the series heads to a circuit where Jorge Lorenzo celebrated the win last year, the former World Champion now in search of a first victory for Ducati at their home track. The Spanish flag has flown on top of the podium every year at Mugello since 2010, and a 23-lap race on Sunday will decide whether that run continues for an eighth consecutive season.

The aim for the Pull&Bear Aspar Team at Mugello is to fulfil on Sunday the potential shown by both Álvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham on Friday and Saturday. That was what they were unable to do last time out at Le Mans so they are both extra determined to put the record straight at Mugello. The Spaniard is hoping for a turnaround in his fortunes after an unlucky three races, as he aims to enjoy the delights of Mugello to their fullest this weekend. Key to that will be improving on his recent qualifying performances, in order to avoid incidents during the race. Abraham heads to Italy with his ninth place qualifying performance in France still fresh in the memory and like Bautista he also has the benefit of two days of testing in Barcelona last week under his belt.

Álvaro Bautista: “Our luck has to change at Mugello. I think we are working well but after the last race in France I was feeling down for a couple of days because I couldn't believe we had come away with nothing from another weekend. The best way to deal with bad thoughts is to get back on the bike so the two-day test in Barcelona was good for me. It was a positive test, we were able to try out a lot of things that could be helpful over the coming races. Now we can think about Italy and Mugello, which is a difficult track with a lot of direction changes but it is nice and very fast. It is one of the most enjoyable circuits to ride on a MotoGP bike. Our objective is to keep working in the same way, to try and rediscover the feeling we had in previous races and finish the job off on Sunday. We have to find a set-up on Friday that allows me to be comfortable and to enjoy riding the bike. The main objective is to improve on our qualifying performance because I think that is where we are most struggling. If we can get a little higher up the grid we can save ourselves some problems at critical moments. I am motivated and excited to do well after the last few rounds, when luck has not been on our side. We will keep working and keep fighting to show our full potential.”

Karel Abraham: “I am really looking forward to Mugello. We go to the Italian Grand Prix on the back of a couple of days of testing in Barcelona, which didn't go as well as we hoped, but we are ready to enjoy one of the best circuits for the Ducati and for me. I like Mugello, it is one of my favourites because of the fast corners and the top speeds you can reach. Over the past few days I have been able to continue my physical preparations in the gym and on the bicycle so I should be even more fit when we arrive in Mugello.”

Source: AsparTeam

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