Work at the 4.110km circuit, located some 30km north of the Italian capital city of Rome, has been ongoing for months to get the paddock and facilities ready for the biggest event the track has ever held.
The circuit will feature some unique challenges and it includes both ultra-slow and ultra-fast corners. Despite most of the top teams and riders having tested at Vallelunga at some stage, this will be a new experience for many of them in real race conditions.
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's
James Toseland will enter the penultimate round a reduced 41 points ahead of rider #41
Noriyuki Haga. However, despite gaining ground at Lausitz, the Yamaha Italia pilot needs to keep Toseland's title lead under 50 points by the end of Sunday's two races to prevent the Briton seizing his second world crown one round early.
With local hero Max Biaggi only another 12 points further from Toseland's total of 375, Haga's position is also under potential threat - and the former
MotoGP star would like nothing better than a first ever double victory in front of his home fans.
Even the perennial fighting qualities of Ducati's reigning double world champion
Troy Bayliss may not be enough to make up the 79 points he finds himself behind Toseland, while another double champion,
Troy Corser, lags 42 points behind Bayliss.
The previous round at Eurospeedway Lausitz had a significant effect on the clash just behind the 'big five'. Tough weekends for both Sterilgarda Ducati's
Ruben Xaus and Ducati Xerox's
Lorenzo Lanzi allowed Toseland's team-mate Roby Rolfo to push his way towards a possible top six. Xaus is currently on 177 points, Lanzi on 173 and Rolfo on 166, making Vallelunga another pivotal race for all three of them.
