The British-based Rizla Suzuki team of Anglo-American
John Hopkins and Australian
Chris Vermeulen are confident of some good results after some impressive pre-season testing at the circuit, while one of their former riders
Kenny Roberts Junior returns to the track where he brought Suzuki 500cc success six years ago. KR Jr is working flat out this year to develop his father's Honda powered KR211V machine and a new frame in Italy brought the Oxfordshire-based team a hard earned eighth place.
Jorge Lorenzo’s third win of the season in Italy lifted him to second place in the 250cc championship but he is still 20 points adrift of championship leader Andre Dovizioso. The Fortuna Aprilia rider won the first two races but then crashed out in Turkey and France but was back to his best in Mugello. His teammate Hector Barbara is out of the race after breaking his arm in a mountain bike accident.
Former 125cc champion Italian Dovizioso is the only rider in all three classes to finish on the podium at the first six races of the season but he still has to win a 250cc race. His Humangest Racing Team Honda team-mate Yuki Takahashi won in France and is third in the Championship, just eight points behind Lorenzo.
Twenty-year-old Mattia Pasini won his first 125cc grand prix of the season in Mugello and returns to the scene of another triumph in Barcelona last year. The Italian is third in the Championship which is led by his Master-MVA Aspar Aprilia team-mate Spaniard Alvaro Bautista, who leads the Finn Mika Kallio by an impressive 31 points after finishing second in Mugello.
