Hakim Danish ended his impressive, yet frustrating, run of second places with a superb victory in Race 2 in Aragón two weeks ago. The Malaysian 17-year-old now holds a 30-point advantage over 16-year-old Spaniard Brian Uriarte, but there are 50 points on offer this weekend.
The circuit sweeps through the Tuscan hills, big, fast corners and dramatic changes of elevation are a great challenge to the teenagers on their KTMs. The long front straight invites slipstreaming and close finishes between big groups of riders have been common in the 16 previous races in Mugello.
There have been exceptions. Back in 2014, Jorge Martín shot away from the start, built up a nice lead and cruised home to a convincing victory on his way to taking the Cup that year.
Last year, the first 11 were covered by just 0,795 seconds in Race 2. Victory went to Valentin Perrone over Uriarte 2nd and eventual Cup winner Álvaro Carpe 3rd. Danish crossed the line 6th. 
Uriarte had also been 2nd in Race 1 with Danish 7th so the Spaniard has the Mugello form, but the Malaysian scored an important psychological victory in Aragón Race 2. He has demonstrated that he is far stronger than when he took 6th in last year’s Cup overall, while Uriarte stood 2nd at the end of the season.
With 200 points still to be won this season, the Cup is much more than a battle between Danish and Uriarte. Beñat Fernandez did not enjoy Aragón, but the Spanish 17-year-old has already won a race in this, his first Cup season. That was Le Mans Race 2 and don’t forget Carter Thompson’s great victory in Jerez Race 2. It is the Australian 17-year-old’s 3rd year, and while his points score has suffered a couple of falls in the last two events, he has the pace to run up front in Italy.
David González was a very close 3rd in both races in Aragón. The 17-year-old Spaniard is in his first season and has now clicked with the KTM. He can battle for the win. Veda Pratama was very frustrated with two close 4th places in his comeback from injury two weeks ago. He will not allow that to happen again and already knows Mugello well from last year.
Marco Morelli will be right there if his head is on straight; it is his 3rd season. Giulio Pugliese is ready to impress at home in year 2. Leo Rammerstorfer has the pace in his third season and is gaining the confidence that can put him on the podium.
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 1 is at 16:10 CEST on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:45, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
For more info checkout our dedicated Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News page Red Bull Rookies Cup News
Or visit the official Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup website rookiescup.redbull.com/
