While Mattia Pasini accepts coming into his home race as a stand-in rider at Petronas Sprinta provides a different dynamic, he still wants to fight for the win and won’t hold back at Mugello.
After an initial outing for the team at Le Mans replacing the injured Khairul Idham Pawi, where he was unfortunately taken out of the race by Moto2 championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri, Pasini returns for the Petronas squad for his home race following a two-day test at Circuit de Catalunya last week.
Pasini, a three-time winner at Mugello in Grand Prix racing, remains confident of challenging in the front group and despite acting as stand-in rider the Italian says he won’t hold back.
“I hope to have a weekend like at Le Mans, only with a bit more luck on Sunday,” Pasini said. “Mugello is a track that I like a lot and where I've won several times. I’ve always been quick there and I hope to have a good weekend.
“We will work hard with the team to at least place inside the top five, although for me the objective is always victory and we are not putting limits on ourselves. Mugello is always special because of the fans; I personally think it’s the most beautiful track in the world.”
Pawi has returned home to Malaysia to continue his recovery from a right hand injury.
Pasini claimed a maiden Grand Prix win at Mugello back in 2006 during his 125cc days before following it up in 2009 with victory in the 250cc race.
The Italian then broke his eight-year drought without a win by claiming the 2017 Moto2 victory which led to Valentino Rossi describing his triumph as a race “every Italian rider dreams about”.
