Marco Simoncelli will hold flag in 2006 world championship (ANSA) - Milan, February 13 - After an absence of 13 years, legendary Italian motorcycle maker Gilera is to return to the 250cc class in world championship racing .

The team, which returned to the 125cc category in 2001, presented the bike and rider with which it will compete in the quarter litre category in Milan on Tuesday .

"This year we're starting off with two bikes and our expectations are high. We want to win," said Giampiero Sacchi, sports director for Gilera's parent company Piaggio .

The team has hired Italian riders for both bikes, which display the company's traditional intersecting rings logo, a reminder of the racing team's glory days in the 1950s .

Marco Simoncelli, 19, has moved from Aprilia's 125cc team to ride the 250cc machine. Simone Corsi, 18, will race the 125cc bike after spending last year on an Aprilia 250 .

When Gilera began its return to world championship racing in 2001, Manuel Poggiali immediately won the world title in the 125 class .

Despite Sacchi's high hopes, it appeared less likely that Simoncelli would repeat the feat in 2006. "There are a lot of really great riders in the 250 and I'll have to gain experience before I can challenge the best," the rider admitted .

He said he was planning to stay in the quarter-litre class for two or three years, before moving up to the MotoGP top flight .