125: Haojue to miss Mugello.

125GP's newest manufacturer, Haojue, has withdrawn from this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello 'in order to concentrate on addressing the problems affecting the engine performance' of its machine.

The first four rounds of the season have seen lead rider Michael Ranseder make just one race start, at the Qatar season opener, when the Austrian retired from 29th one lap before the end of the rain-shortened four lap race.

Round two in Japan saw the team withdraw both Ranseder and rookie team-mate Matt Hoyle before qualifying, due to a 'technical problem'.

Hoyle - who has only qualified at Qatar, which he was unable to start due to injury - also failed to qualify for the Spanish Grand Prix, while Ranseder was unable to start the race after a technical problem on the way to the grid. He had qualified 32nd and last.

Neither rider qualified last time out at Le Mans and, with the team presently battling to overcome a huge '17-22km/h' top speed deficit, it is perhaps unsurprising that they have decided to miss Mugello - which features one of the longest straights of the year - to concentrate on engine developments.

"The early GP results show that we are not yet competitive, so we have decided to concentrate our resources on developing and improving the situation. The areas where we are weak are clearly obvious and we need to focus on rectifying them," explained team director Garry Taylor.