Gunning for six in a row at Mugello

Valentino Rossi has been imperious at the Italian Grand Prix since 2002 and the Italian goes for a sixth successive victory at Mugello on Sunday.

The seven-times world champion lies second in the MotoGP standings, 21 points behind Australian Casey Stoner after five races, but is the undisputed master of the twisting Tuscan circuit in the hills north of Florence.

Rossi has finished top of the podium at Mugello every year since the MotoGP class was introduced in 2002.“I’ve got a special relationship with Mugello. I’ve won many races there, in particular the last three years with Yamaha,” he told the official MotoGP site (www.motogp.com).

“It’s a track on which I’ve disputed the greatest races of my career. And even though this year there is another race in Italy, at Misano (in the San Marino Grand Prix in September), Mugello stands out because of the big crowds and the atmosphere.”

Rossi made a good start to the season, riding his Yamaha to second place behind Stoner in the opening race in Qatar before winning in Spain.

Since then, however, he has gone off the boil. Second place in the Chinese grand prix in early May was sandwiched between a tenth-place finish in Turkey and sixth place at a wet Le Mans circuit two weeks ago. Stoner, meanwhile, notched up two more wins and a third place to take control of the championship.

Rossi’s struggle to control his Yamaha on the slippery circuit at the French Grand Prix underlined the disadvantages of the Michelin tyres he uses compared to the Bridgestones used by Stoner.

“We stayed in France an extra two days and we’ve made some good steps forward, in particular on the tyres,” Rossi said.

“I’m expecting a good battle this weekend. This time the weather should be on our side.” Rossi’s Yamaha will have to be perfectly set-up at Mugello, where the 1.14km straight - one of the longest in MotoGP racing - should favour the raw speed of the Ducati ridden by Stoner. Stoner will be keen to erase the memory of his race in Italy last year, when he was flipped roughly off his bike at the fast Arrabbiata bend on the ninth lap.

“Mugello is one of my favourite tracks. It’s where I got my first pole in 125cc,” he said.