Joan Mir inspired by Rins' great 2019 Mugello race

The last time MotoGP raced at Mugello, in 2019, Ducati's Danilo Petrucci came out on top of a thrilling showdown with Honda's Marc Marquez and team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

But just behind the podium trio, and only 0.535s from victory, was the Suzuki of Alex Rins, who had fought his way through from 13th on the grid.

It is that performance, at a track where the fastest straight of the season plays perfectly into the hands of the record-breaking Ducati, that gives both Rins and team-mate Joan Mir confidence for this weekend's return to Mugello.

“Mugello is a track where often the Ducatis and Yamahas are quick, and maybe our top speed isn’t quite as high as theirs, but in 2019 Alex was able to do a great race here, so it means that our Suzukis can also be competitive," said Mir, who finished twelfth as a rookie in the 2019 event after early race contact from Valentino Rossi.

"I’m really looking forward to it, it’s such a special track - it’s fast and so nice to ride. We’ll focus on getting the setup and the tyres sorted as early in the weekend as possible so that we can then switch our minds to trying to achieve a great result.”

Reigning world champion Mir will start the sixth round of the season holding sixth in the standings, with only one podium and already 31 points behind Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha).

But team-mate Rins is in a far tougher situation, mistakes in the last three races having dropped the Spaniard to twelfth in the world championship.

“I can’t wait for this next race, because Mugello is a track that I really enjoy. We might have a little disadvantage on the long straight, but around the rest of the track I know we can be fast," Rins said.

"I’m feeling optimistic, I’ve been working hard at home in Andorra since Le Mans and I feel very prepared, I love to ride here. I had a good result in 2019 and I want to bring another good result to all my team who really deserve it.”