Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea will be hoping for better fortunes than those he experienced at the corresponding event last year. Rea brings good form to Monza, after taking the Castrol Honda team's first race win of the season last time out at Assen in the Netherlands. The 24-year-old Ulsterman followed up his victory with third place in race two to put himself fourth in the overall standings, just 10 points behind second-placed Max Biaggi.

Said Rea of his 2011 hopes at this iconic venue, "I'm really looking forward to going back to Monza - I love racing in Italy, where the crowds are so enthusiastic and the food is pretty special, too! It didn't go so well last year, with a big DNF in race one, which I think has become a bit of a YouTube sensation! Race two was finished almost before it began, but we still took a lot of positives from Monza last year. We ran at in the top three in all sessions and qualified on the front row, so the bike is a great all-round package. It may not be the fastest but it worked well generating momentum for the straights, which are so important at Monza. We had a bit of a break-through at Assen a couple of weeks ago and we want to continue those podium ways for as long as we can."