“Our home grand prix has come around at a very positive time for us," Gresini added, "The team has just scored its best result of the season at Brno thanks to Shinya taking fourth on his debut with the new bike and, while Alex doesn't have the latest version of the RC212V available to him, he still managed to finish eighth. We are on the up and that showed in the recent tests at Brno after the race, which were positive for both riders.
"Shinya was able to get some valuable kilometres under his belt on the new bike, and that will certainly be to his advantage when we get to Misano. Alex will be racing at home and will want to figure at the front, but it is important that he qualifies well if he wants to be competitive. For all of us, Misano is a special and exciting weekend.”
Nakano's fourth place in the Czech Republic was a positive first outing with the latest Honda, and the Japanese veteran is confident of again challenging at the front when he arrives at Misano.
“We had two days of really important tests after the Czech GP, trying out a variety of different settings with the new bike, which was impossible during the race weekend," he revealed, "In particular, we found a front setting that should also prove to be a good option at Misano.
"I know that this weekend's grand prix is very special for the team and, in a way, it is like a second home race for me too, because I only live ten minutes away from the track. I'll do everything I can to provide the team with a good result and, after that fourth place at Brno, it would be fantastic to get on the podium. That's what I'll be aiming for - the objective from now to the end of the season is to be consistently in the top six.”
