HONDA HOTSHOTS ENTER THE UNKNOWN AT MISANO 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.”