This pivotal race at a crucial stage of the World Championships will be a venture into uncharted territory for nearly all current Honda riders at a track reappearing on the Grand Prix calendar for the first time since 1993. The exception is the hugely experienced Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) who rode a 250 here that year.
The track was excised from the roster of Grand Prix circuits after the terrible accident that befell Wayne Rainey there in '93. The American rider suffered spinal injuries in a crash that ended his stellar career. Now with massive changes made to this Rimini venue - including a
switch from anti-clockwise to clockwise circulation - Misano rides again.
At 4.18km, extensively reworked, and with a new
surface, there's every likelihood this track will
be as tough to fathom for the experienced
campaigners as it will be for the new recruits to
the class - or as easy. Whatever the new nature
of this old venue, this race will favour quick learners.
The three long lefts that characterized the 'old'
Misano are now three right-hand turns of
diminishing speed, whereas before the lefts led
onto the back straight and into another left
turn. But it's more the tyre factor than track
layout that is a concern for riders.
The new tyre rule (31 tyres only per rider per
race) has already proved a significant factor at
several Grands Prix this season. Here, with the
new track surface an unknown quantity, riders are
very conscious that decisions on race rubber will be critical.
Casey Stoner (Ducati) currently heads the World
Championship points standings with 246 points to
Valentino Rossi's 186. The Yamaha rider now has
to close a 66 points gap with just six races left
of this 18-race season. It is not an impossible
task - but unless Stoner misses races or suffers
a catastrophic dip in form - it's most unlikely Rossi can overhaul the Aussie.
But for Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) second
place overall in the World Championship is more
than achievable. The Spanish ace finished fifth
overall in his 2006 rookie season and a runner-up
spot in his second year of MotoGP would represent
real progress towards his goal of a MotoGP World
Championship to add to his 250 and 125 World
Crowns. He currently trails Rossi by just 18 points.
His team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V)
is finding form again after a wretched start to
the season. The genial American World Champion
has now notched three podiums in the last four
races and a win here would be nothing less than
he deserves after persevering so doggedly this
season to recover momentum - and points.
Poor Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) has
once again been sidelined by injury but the tough
Italian returns here to show his fans what he can
do when his body and his machinery are working
properly. He currently lies fifth overall in the points table.
Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) returned from a
broken leg in the Czech Republic two weeks ago
and finished a stubborn 11th despite being only
70% fit. With another two weeks of recuperation
under his belt he will be aiming for a top ten finish or better here on Sunday.
Dani Pedrosa said: "The direction is reversed now
and there are some changes to the circuit, so
everyone is going to be starting from the same
point. This means we'll have to be clever with
our decisions on tyres and set-up. It's going to
be a great atmosphere with the Italian fans
coming to support the local riders - if it's
anything like Mugello then it will be another
special weekend. The tyres and temperature will
be important again this weekend. We spent a
couple of days testing after the last race at
Brno and we're hoping the things we learnt there will help us for Misano."
Nicky Hayden said: "It's quite exciting going to
a new track and it's definitely going to be a
challenge. A couple of years ago there were a few
new venues on the calendar but it's been a while
since we've been to another new one. A few of the
Italian riders have checked if for safety but no
one's ridden a MotoGP bike here. I'm expecting a
big weekend. I've heard the atmosphere at Misano
is quite wild and it's right in the Italian
riders' neck of the woods. One of the major
factors is going to be tyres again. We've seen
this year that when we've gone to tracks with a
new surface - like Sachsenring or Laguna Seca - it all came down to tyres."
Marco Melandri said: "The medical checks after
Brno confirmed a discal hernia between the fifth
and sixth vertebrae but luckily the need for
surgery was ruled out. I need more rest and
physiotherapy right up until the eve of the Grand
Prix. The situation is better compared to Brno
but I know I am running out of time. I just hope
to be in good shape for the race because this is
a special Grand Prix for my team. As a circuit
Misano has changed a lot from the one we knew:
there are some new sections and they are running
it in the opposite direction so it's like a
completely new track. The best place to overtake?
Under braking at Quercia! It won't be easy to
pass though because there are at least four first
gear corners. For me it will be a physically
challenging race after the problems I had at
Brno. I'll have to see how it is when I get on
the bike on Friday but I'm hoping to be fit. To
have a second race in Italy as well as the
traditional race at Mugello is a privilege for
the Italian riders. Racing in front of our fans is an incredible feeling!"
Toni Elias, boosted by the confidence of his
successful return to action at Brno and his
well-deserved eleventh place, is looking forward
to the Italian race. Elias said: "Soon after my
crash at Assen I set my comeback target for Brno.
I worked hard, eight hours a day, and made it
back at around 60% fitness. I took the weekend as
a kind of test and it was tough but with another
two weeks of rehab behind me I feel more
confident now. I've still got a lot of work to
do, of course, but I feel calm. At Brno we
received some updates for the chassis, exhaust
and engine. Unfortunately, because of my physical
condition, I wasn't able to make the most of
them. I'm happy to be racing at Misano, my team's
home circuit. During the week before Brno I had
the opportunity to complete a couple of laps
there on a street bike to test out my physical
condition before tackling the GP in the Czech
Republic. It is an interesting circuit but also
difficult. On Friday we'll have an extra hour of
practice because the circuit is new to the
calendar. I'm just disappointed I won't be at
full fitness because I'd like to pay my team back
with a top result. All the guys in the garage, my
chief engineer Fabrizio Cecchini included, live
close to the track and they're looking forward to this race."
Checa said: "The first and last time I raced at
Misano was in 1993 but with so many changes, like
the reverse direction and new tarmac, it is a new
circuit for everyone. I'm not sure what to expect
as some of the comments from the Superbike riders
are not so positive about the circuit. Perhaps
top-end power will not be critical here and with
the improved chassis balance and front-end feel
we found at the Brno test, plus smoother throttle
connection from the latest Honda updates, I hope we can be competitive."
Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) said:
"The test after the Brno round was very important
for us and we are hoping to continue our hard
work at Misano. We didn't find a solution for the
chatter problems which afflicted us at Brno, so
that's still our main aim, but we were able to
find some improvements in the bike's settings
which hopefully will give us a base from which to
work from when we arrive at Misano. It's going to
be interesting to head out in the first session,
knowing that it's a new track to all of us."
Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) said: "We made
big improvements on settings during the test at Brno and we're
confident we can move further up the field. A big
part of the weekend performance will be from
tyres. As always going to a new track has its
challenges, both for Michelin and our team, but
we're ready for it and hopefully it will all come
together for a strong result."
In the 250cc class Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) would
seem to have a commanding points lead over his
erstwhile pursuer Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda
RS250RW) who trails the Spanish World Champion by
30 points. But Lorenzo has proved more fallible
than his determined rival in the past and this
title is by no means in the bag yet for the Spaniard.
Dovi's metronomic style and utter consistency
have edged him closer the title than a lesser
rider might have been and all it will take is
another slip from Lorenzo to let Dovi back into
the running. Here, at home, Andrea will be piling the pressure on his rival.
Dovizioso said: "This track is new for all the
riders, but I drove here in a car, in the Misano
six hours in July, and the track seemed quite
slow to me. We are fighting for the World title,
and our good performance in Brno allowed us to
stay in touch with the leader in the 250
standings. This is my home race and I want to
give my fans, relatives and friends the victory."
His team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda RS250RW)
said: "Like most riders I have never been here
before, but in my opinion it could be favourable
for the Honda, thanks to the narrow turns. Like I
already said, this is for me my second home race,
after Japan, so I hope to have a good race and
make up for the unlucky Brno race."
Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) said: "I
don't know this circuit and I'm intrigued to find
out what it's like. No doubt it'll be a
spectacular race because in Italy they always
lend the races much more crowd noise. I think
it'll be a fast track and we'll see if we can get a good result here."
His team-mate Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda
RS250RW) said: "I don't know what the circuit at
Misano is like, but all the riders are in the
same situation. I know it's a track where you
don't need a very high top speed so that may help
us a little. I'll have to concentrate a lot in
practice so I can do my best and improve little-by-little."
Hector Faubel leads the 125c class by a mere ten
points from Gabor Talmacsi (both Aprilia) with
Lukas Pesek (Derbi) tied in third on 129 points
with Tommy Koyama (KTM). Britain's Bradley Smith
(Repsol Honda RS125R) sits eighth at the moment
and he is anxious to claw his way up the table with six races to go.
Smith said: "Misano is a new track for everybody
so it'll be like a new start, with everybody at
the same point. I can't wait to get going and see
what we can do when the others don't have the
perfect set-up either. I should do well and after
Brno I am eager to race, as it was not a good
weekend for me there. I am totally concentrated
on getting back up among the leaders."
His team-mate Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R)
said: "I still haven't seen the circuit, and
we'll see how things go when we get there. I am
going to tackle it with a lot of enthusiasm,
after a few races with results we didn't quite
expect. We're going to be in the same state as
everybody else, but I have seen some plans of the
circuit and repeats of the Superbike races too -
but reality is always different. We'll see what happens."