This weekend's San Marino Grand Prix at Misano carries special significance for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini's
Alex de Angelis and, as the only true San Marino native in the
MotoGP field, he will be hoping to reproduce the sort of form he last showed on Italian soil.
The youngster took a stunning fourth place in the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello in June - a result he repeated at Sachsenring - but is keen to show his 'home' fans just what he can do aboard one of Fausto Gresini's machines when the team goes into battle just a few kilometres from its headquarters in San Clemente di Rimini.
“Misano is not one of my favourite tracks, but I can't wait to ride in front of my fans – I'll be giving it 1000 per cent, that's for sure!" de Angelis commented, "My fan club will be taking up an entire grandstand, decked in the colours of the San Marino flag and giving me an extra push to ride on the limit."
Without the recent woes suffered by the various Michelin runners, de Angelis is confident that he can claim another strong finish with the package Gresini has put together, even if it isn't the latest Honda now being enjoyed by seasoned team-mate
Shinya Nakano.
"From a technical point of view, everything is in place for a top performance," he confirmed, "The
Bridgestone tyres are really competitive and, last year at Misano, they worked really well. On paper, the track looks as though it should be well suited to our bike because there aren't any long straights.....
"Racing at home obviously provides an extra motivation, but we'll try to retain our focus from the first session and not get carried away with the excitement. We're looking forward to Friday and finding out if I can get comfortable with the bike but, in any case, I'm confident. It won't be easy to get on the podium - but that's what I'll be trying for!”
