Team San Carlo Honda Gresini head into the summer break hoping to put another unfortunate Grand Prix out of their minds, with both Shinya Nakano and Alex de Angelis riding bravely to the points at Laguna Seca today but with their true potential certainly not reflected by 10th and 13th place finishes. It was always going to be a tough USGP for the pair after crashes in qualifying limited them to lowly grid positions, but in particular for De Angelis, who was riding with the added inconvenience of a broken thumb. The rookie rider put on a courageous display to finish in the points, whilst a potential top eight finish for Nakano was spoiled by a mid-race mistake.