Gresini Honda's Marco Simoncelli will try to give HRC more reasons to give him factory support in the 2012 MotoGP season, starting with a better performance in free practice and qualifying at Aragon this weekend.

The large-barnetted Italian looks set to be in a straight fight with Andrea Dovizioso for works backing next year but managed to beat his lifelong rival for the first time in the blue riband class at Misano - something he will want to repeat in Spain on Sunday afternoon.

“The last lap at Misano was a wonderful moment for me – I had great fun battling with Dovizioso and Spies, passing each other two or three times, and to have won that particular fight was great for me and my fans. Now we have to keep this momentum going and make sure we have more to shout about before the end of the season," said Simoncelli.

"We are improving and I have been more consistent in recent races, but even though the race was exciting at Misano, we really need to be fighting for the podium positions. Aragon didn't go badly for me last year and I like the track so hopefully I can have a good race.

"We need to find a bit more pace in practice so that we can be challenging for better grid positions, like we were at the start of the season. It goes without saying that my feeling with the team is brilliant and that is just further motivation to fight for good results.”