After a three-week hiatus from competitive action, the superstars of the MotoGP series sweep into Italy this coming weekend to do battle and entertain the Grand Prix faithful at the glorious circuit of Mugello; the Grand Premio Alice D'Italia is upon us.

The 2005 F.I.M. Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championship has reached round five of its global trek, and this weekend, the travelling circus will be performing on one of the finest stages in the sport.

Mugello is a completely different environment to that of Le Mans last time out and it is an all-out cauldron of intensity. There will be a real tour-de-force of Italian emotion as the expected crowd—predicted to be in the region of 78,000—will pack the grandstands and surrounding wooded hillsides.

The Italian Motorcycle Grand Prix is one of the highest-rated sporting events of the year in Italy in terms of viewing figures and, for sure, the whole country will come to a standstill when the lights go out for the MotoGP race.

A huge global television audience will join the Italian viewers, and one of the main attractions is, of course, the battle between the home nation's riders. The flags will be out and the Pironi beer will be flowing as the MotoGP racers come to grips with their 990cc machines.

The pressure will be intense for Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri and reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi. Not only do they have to perform on Sunday aboard their four-stroke prototypes, they have to try and deal with the Italian press corp. and their siege mentality.

The Italian sports media are some of the most fickle in the world, and you can go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye. They hunt in packs with a constant barrage of attention aimed at the big Italian names. It's always interesting to watch how the Italian riders deal with the microscopic intensity of media coverage at their home round as handling the Italian sports paparazzi can be a battle in itself.

The speed-crazy crowd really cuts loose at Mugello and they get into the spirit of things, in fact so much so that at the end of the race it's like a military operation in pit-lane. The emotionally driven partisan crowd is a boisterous bunch, and the obligatory track invasion has the teams removing all equipment from pit-wall post-race to stop the pilfering that has been known to take place.

The 3.26-mile Mugello circuit was constructed in 1974 in a valley between the rolling Tuscan hillsides and held its first Grand Prix in 1976 with the event a permanent one on the Grand Prix calendar since 1991.

The circuit, perched high above Florence, was bought by Ferrari in 1988 and is used as a test track for their Formula One cars and the surrounding infrastructure is therefore of the highest order.

It has nine right-hand corners and six left, and it includes one of the longest straights on the MotoGP calendar—nearly 3/4 mile in length. That straightaway has the potential to record the fastest top speeds of the season should the prevailing breeze be at the back of the MotoGP riders this coming weekend.

It has a number of high-speed corners and sweeping esses but is bumpy in places and as-so provides an undulating rollercoaster ride. It is indeed a real test of agility and strength and a true test of set-up skills for both the riders and the engineers.

Mugello is a daunting place, and hitting that perfect lap is a question of balance with regards to set-up. Top-end speed is important for the main straight, and a balanced geometry setting and plenty of mid-range power is required for the rest of the track.

You need to hit upon a compromise for the front-end of the motorcycle at Mugello as there are a few key downhill corners and camber changes, and the right tire choice and chassis balance helps this cause immensely. Plenty of work for the Showa and Ohlins technicians to get the front-end "feel" just right.

Choosing a race tire will also be of high importance in order to stay in touch for a decent points haul toward the end of the race -- side grip and tire longevity are crucial. We should see some harder compounds of both front and rear being chosen for the race this weekend. New tires from Michelin and Bridgestone are expected this weekend.

Valentino Rossi holds a 37-point advantage at the top of the rider's championship with the revelation of the season, Marco Melandri, in second. Sete Gibernau lies in third spot just five points behind his Movistar teammate, and Sete needs June to be kind to him. This Mugello race isn't historically Sete's favorite as his results are mixed but it's current form that matters. The Spaniard was flying at Le Mans with his race-pace, and that's what counts.

There are three race meetings this month with Catalunya and Assen following on from the Italian event and it's been suggested by many—Rossi included—that this trio of June race meetings can make or break your season. Sete needs to hit pay dirt at all three to bridge the gap.

The Honda riders are all using a mix of set-up, some with the 2005 version of the rear linkage and some (including Barros and Melandri) using the 2003-inspired rear profile. The HRC works team is rumored to have Japanese-tested evolutionary parts on-hand this weekend including some engine tweaks. However, for Nick Hayden and Max Biaggi, it's the front-end of the motorcycle that is causing them problems.

Engine braking and front-end tire profile woes are the main worry; chatter central for the factory riders with Max's 250cc inch-perfect flowing style and Nick's brake-and-sweep corner entry style suffering.

The Repsol machines are hopping and skipping under deceleration, and there are issues with both the arc of alignment and as the riders pour the power on when they exit. Work aplenty then as Hayden especially needs "big June" to work in his favor. Prominent HRC eyes are watching.

Camel Pons riders Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss and returning Konica Minolta pilot Makoto Tamada will all be eager to stamp their authority on this race meeting early on. Tamada loves Mugello and will be looking to repeat his 2004 form this time on Michelins.

Yamaha's Colin Edwards is eager to get back on his YZR-M1 and continue the progress he has made of late which culminated in a podium at Le Mans. The Texas Tornado needs to find that extra speed needed to keep up with the Rossi/Gibernau battle.

With a baseline set-up seemingly in the bag for the M1 pilots, will they need to remove the muffler this weekend to give them a few more MPH for the straight? Is there any significant performance gain from running the cut-pipe?

Or, will a compromise on gearing ratio allow them to lose a touch of top speed but keep them in touch through and out of the turns to stay with the leading Hondas V5's over a lap? All answers are known only to the engineers and riders right now, but we shall soon see.

Ruben Xaus likes Mugello and needs to find a set-up with the quasi-factory Yamaha to worry his rivals. With Toni Elias absent after a testing crash, David Checa steps up to the pitcher's mound to take the Fortuna ride for this GP. The reigning World Endurance champion is a former 250cc GP racer and, of course, brother of Ducati factory racer Carlos.

The Ducatisti need to find balance and stability with their engine braking system to add to the astonishing top-speed from the Demosedici GP-5, and Bridgestone will be busy assisting the Bologna factory to find a race tire to match the fantastic qualifying product. Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi also need a solid finish on-board the works V4 bikes after some ignominious results of late—some luck may help, too.

The same can be said for Suzuki. A top-end speed deficiency may hurt the Japanese marque at Mugello, so a sweet-spot in terms of chassis and suspension set-up will need to be found to keep the GSV-R riders, John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Junior, in touch. As with Ducati, it's all about the race tire so expect some race-pace simulation runs to be completed during free practice rather than the quest for the holy grail that is the outright fastest time.

Alex Hofmann is back from injury and will partner with Shinya Nakano once again on-board the Kawasaki Ninja. Another Bridgestone affair at Team Green, although in terms of race-pace competitiveness for Nakano anyway, the engine and electronics package for the "big-bang" Kawasaki in-line four machine looks more competitive at the moment than those found on the V4s at Ducati and Suzuki.

Roberto Rolfo (Team D'Antin Pramac), Shane Byrne (Team Roberts) and Franco Battaini and James Ellison (Blata WCM) will all be aiming to develop their own unique packages this weekend and simply stay in touch any way they can with the mid-pack runners.

If you've ever attended the Mugello meeting and camped, you know just how crazy the Italian fans are. The carnival atmosphere of the campsite is legendary and the bewildered faces of the security personnel will leave you in no doubt that it's sheer madness.

There are car engines removed from their chassis and fired up right through the night, blaring music, multi-national debauchery and a general free for-all. The atmosphere, though, is one of fun and frivolity but don't be expecting much sleep—it's not done at Mugello.

Free Practice One gets underway at 10:00 am local time on Friday and the MotoGP race is due off at 2:00 pm, again local time, on Sunday afternoon. So, make sure you are fully equipped on the libation front, sling the kids to Grandma's house and tell the wife there is a half-price shoe sale going on at the mall. The Grand Premio Alice D'Italia should be a cracker!