Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V), chastened by what was a disastrous Grand Prix in Brno two weeks ago, is ready to take the fight to his title rivals once more. It looks as if Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) is out of sight in the World Championship points table with 237 points to Ducati rider Casey Stoner’s 187 and Dani’s 172. But with six rounds and 150 points remaining nothing can be taken for granted. The horrendous Czech Republic race, which seriously derailed Dani’s title hopes, has now been consigned to the history books and with Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) now rejoining the Repsol Team after being sidelined with a foot injury, Honda’s main men are back at full strength for the final clashes of the year. This Grand Prix was a thorough disaster for Dani and Nicky in 2007. Both were involved in a turn one, lap one pile-up which ruined their races and neither man will want a repeat of that scenario this time round. Nor will Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) who was also involved. After a testing session following on from the Brno race, Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) has proved that he is still a force to be reckoned with as he continues to perform strongly while working on RC212V chassis developments. His fourth place in the Czech Republic showed that the Japanese rider’s ambition of finishing in the top six at the remaining six races of the year is by no means too tall an order and as a local rider (Shinya lives a mere 10km from the track) he will be especially fired up this weekend. Nakano’s team-mate Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) is another entirely local hopeful. The San Marinese man has shown massive potential since his elevation to the premier class from the 250cc category and he would like nothing better than to snatch a podium here this weekend. Another genuine local with high hopes this weekend is Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) who is holding fifth place overall in the points standings in what is turning out to be a highly impressive rookie season. Dovi lies only ten points behind Yamaha rookie Jorge Lorenzo and there is never any lack of desire on Dovzioso’s part when it comes to getting the better of Lorenzo here or anywhere. The Misano 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 is once more a Grand Prix fixture. 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. With tyre and set-up data from last year’s race this Grand Prix will be marginally less tricky than in 2007. But in the light of recent tyre troubles for riders perhaps not by much. Now at 4.226km, after an extra 250m was added to the pitlane exit to improve safety, the previous lap records will be irrelevant and riders will be vying to get their names on the books as the quickest participants at this modified venue. Dani said: “I’m hoping that we can have a better weekend at Misano, though I had bad luck there last year, another rider knocked me off at the very first corner. The Misano circuit is quite fast but it feels tight and narrow. The grip level is OK and last year we used medium-compound tyres because it was quite hot. The track was also very bumpy last year, which was probably its worst feature. From a set-up point of view the most important thing at Misano is having good braking power and good stability when accelerating out of the corners. It’s the kind of track that requires you to ride aggressively.” Nicky said: “I’m certainly excited to be getting back out there with the boys, because I hated missing Brno. I’ve been seeing doctors and I’m going to get some moulded support to wear in my boot. I’ve been doing some training in the pool and a few things at the gym, nothing too crazy. Misano is almost a Laguna without the hills, it’s a tight little scrappy track where you need a bike you can be aggressive with. I enjoyed it last year but I’d just as soon they flipped it back around and go the old direction for those big lefts that used to go on to the back straightaway, I remember seeing the old 500 guys riding those on TV.” De Angelis said: “Misano is not one of my favourite tracks but I can’t wait to ride in front of my fans. My fan club will be taking up an entire grandstand, decked in the colours of the San Marino flag and giving me an extra push to ride on the limit. From a technical point of view everything is in place for a top performance the Bridgestone tyres are really competitive and last year at Misano they worked really well. On paper the track looks as though it should be well suited to our bike because there aren’t any long straights. Racing at home obviously provides an extra motivation but we’ll try to retain our focus from the first session and not get carried away with the excitement.” Nakano said: “We had two days of really important tests after the Czech GP, trying out a variety of different settings with the new bike, which was impossible during the race weekend. In particular we found a front setting that should also prove to be a good option at Misano. I know this weekend’s Grand Prix is very special for the team and in a way it is like a second home race for me too because I only live ten minutes away from the track! I’ll do everything I can to provide the team with a good result and after that fourth place at Brno it would be fantastic to get on the podium.” Dovizioso said: “This for me is my home Grand Prix, so I am excited to run in front of my fans and the many friends who wish me support on the many internet forums. The track itself is pretty slow, because there are many curves and the straights are short, but this could help during the race. Everyone is motivated to get a good result for both the Italian public and for my Championship position. Last year I went well in practice and qualifying but then in the race I was a victim of a mechanical problem, so I have unfinished business here.” De Puniet said: “Brno was a bad experience for me and the crew but we must continue our job to find a solution for front grip. We tested some Michelin tyres there but we could not find any important improvement. So we decided to end that testing session early and proceed with our set-up work in here at Misano. I like the track and we need to work hard with HRC and Michelin to close the gap to the fastest riders. We need to avoid the troubles we suffered in Brno and I’m sure Michelin is working hard to find a solution for this weekend. We will have a lot of sponsors and friends here and I absolutely want to be more competitive like at Laguna Seca and Germany.” 250cc Honda’s two runners in the quarter-litre class have been giving their all to try and get on terms with the Aprilia riders in this highly competitive category. Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) currently lies ninth in the standings after scoring a podium at Jerez earlier in the season while Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG RS250RW) lies 14th in the overall table. Takhashi said: “For me the Grand Prix of San Marino is my second race at home, as I lived for some years in Cattolica, a few kilometres from the circuit and I feel the thrill of racing in Italy. The track is not fast, and I think that this could be favourable to my Honda. With the changes made to the circuit I will see how things have altered and whether this will influence things. Either way, I want to make a good race for my team.” Wilairot said: “I’m looking forward to riding here and getting into action again after Brno. The track is quite tight and we should have an opportunity to do well. I really want to end the season strongly and pay back all the hard work the team has put in throughout the year so far.” 125cc Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) is aiming to continue the work he’s been putting in this season in learning how to get the maximum performance from both himself and his machine. This weekend represents another opportunity to expand on that. He said: “Misano is another opportunity to show far we’ve come since the start of the season. I’m really enjoying being able to stay with faster riders in qualifying and especially in the races where I know that if I make a single mistake I can lose so much ground. I will concentrate really hard this weekend and see what we can do.”