Misano (Italy), Thursday 28th April: Warm conditions at the Misano World Circuit allowed the Ducati Xerox squad to carry out two day’s worth of work on track today and yesterday, with positive results. Despite battling against flu and a high fever, Noriyuki Haga rode alongside his team-mate Michel Fabrizio yesterday and both demonstrated a fast pace.

On track together with the Aprilia, BMW and Yamana factory teams, the two Ducati Xerox riders and their technicians concentrated above all on making modifications to the 1198 bikes in order to improve feeling and refine set-ups in preparation for the next race at Monza, the weekend of 7th to 9th May.

Today Noriyuki’s physical condition unfortunately worsened and after making two exits in the late morning, during which it was evident that his weakness was preventing him from pushing, the Japanese rider decided to finish up early, at lunchtime. Work continued for Michel however, and he spent the afternoon working on race pace and testing some different settings dedicated to the qualifying tires, to better prepare for the Superpole sessions.

At the end of the tests, the team returned home satisfied with the work achieved. Michel made more than 150 laps over the two days, recording a great (unofficial) time of 1m35.7 with the race tire, followed by a 1m35.2 on a qualifier, while Noriyuki, unwell, registered a best time yesterday of 1m36.6 on a race tire.

Michel Fabrizio
“We’ve worked really hard, my best time of 1m35.2 on a qualifier was good but I’m more satisfied with the 1m35.7 that I set on a race tire and the fact I was able to lap consistently fast. My technicians made various changes to the suspension settings of my 1198 and I didn’t have any real problems. At Monza we absolutely must do well, we need to make good points in order to make up lost ground. We’ll see.”

Noriyuki Haga
“Yesterday everything was going well, lap times were better than they were during last year’s racing, but of course track temperatures were lower too of course which helped. The feeling I had with the tires was good and we also identified a better suspension setting, as well as trying some engine settings too. Now we have to see how those solutions work at Monza. Everyone knows that Monza has many long straights where we have difficulty with top speed but I plan to open the gas and give it my all.”

Ernesto Marinelli – Team Manager
“We’re going through a very difficult phase, perhaps the most difficult that I remember, but the important thing is to react and never give up, and in this respect the whole team is very strong. This test has been very important and the problems regarding lack of feeling (the hardest kind to fix), that both riders were citing at Assen, seem to have been resolved or at least greatly reduced. It’s a pity that Noriyuki was affected by the flu, but Michel’s solid test is certainly an important base from which to start at Monza, where we’ll give 200%.”

The Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team wrapped up a successful two day test in Misano this afternoon, fresh from James Toseland’s two podiums in Assen. Riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland spent the two days testing further changes to their 2010 R1 race-bikes as they prepare for the next round of the championship at the legendary Monza circuit next week. Toseland spent the first day focussing on the electronics, and ended the day second fastest on unofficial timing (no transponders) with a 1’36.0, only 0.1 behind the fastest time having completed 69 laps. Team mate Crutchlow was working on a general bike set-up, putting in 87 laps on the first day and ending it just behind Toseland, third fastest with an unofficial time of 1’36.3.

Day two saw Crutchlow working through a different set up to the previous day, finding advantages with each. He finished the second day of testing in third having put in a 1’35.7 lap on race tires. Team mate Toseland spent the day working on race pace and durability, using a qualifier towards the end to put in a 1’35.6 and take the second fastest slot of the day yet again.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team
“We’ve achieved a lot, and ended up second today. Fabrizio did a really good low 35 second lap on a qualifier but I think on race tires there were definitely consistent 35s to be had for us as well. The fastest race time last year was a 37 so it shows how much everyone has improved, we’re 1.3 seconds under the lap record. Misano is definitely suited to the Ducati, it’s their strongest track I think, however I did ten laps in the low 36s which is great for race pace and the important thing is we’ve moved forward on durability for race pace which is key.”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team
“It’s been quite a progressive two days, we’ve worked through two completely different set ups and found pros and cons to both. I think we’ve found a clear direction to work in which we now need to fine tune. I was pleased with the pace we had, we were consistently in the top three without using a qualifier tire, so we’re good with race tires which is important. I have to keep working and hopefully it has put us in a good set for Monza.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team Manager
“We’ve had a really good test here at Misano. We tried some different things in both electronics and bike set up with both riders and in the end we learnt some valuable information and we made improvements. We will use these steps to bring upgrades in both electronics and chassis set up. Misano has been invaluable in finally providing us with some structured testing time to really develop a solid base for the rest of the season. Whilst we have made steps at each round including the new linkage for James in Assen, this has been our first real opportunity to make the next step. We now head forward with a more competitive package for the season and are confident this will benefit us from the next race in Monza”

The doctor rules at Misano with resounding home victory and Lorenzo makes it a one-two

Valentino Rossi may have had a donkey on his helmet today but it was ‘The Doctor’ riding the bike once again, as the Italian hero bounced back from his Indianapolis mistake with an emphatic home victory at Misano. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished a strong second, making this the fifth one-two finish for the team this season.

After the boiling heat of the last two days the temperature today was brought right down by a strong wind, which meant track conditions were quite different to how they had been so far. Rossi, starting from pole, dropped to third at the start whilst Lorenzo narrowly escaped a pile up, which claimed three other riders. The Spaniard then got in front of the Italian for a few laps as Dani Pedrosa and Toni Elias battled it out for the lead, but on lap five all changed as Rossi moved into second, passing both his team-mate and Elias, and Lorenzo despatched Elias a few corners later to take third.

Rossi was flying by now and took the lead next time around, gradually opening out a gap as Lorenzo struggled to get by Pedrosa. It took the gutsy 22-year-old six laps to overtake his compatriot and by the time he was through Rossi was two seconds clear and Lorenzo had to settle for second and his tenth podium of the season. Rossi, who lives just 10 km from the track, eventually crossed the line 2.416 seconds ahead, taking his eleventh career win on Italian soil and his sixth of the season to a rapturous welcome from his passionate fans.

The gap from Rossi to Lorenzo is now 30 points, whilst Yamaha lead both the Teams and Manufacturers standings by large margins. There is now a four-week break to the next round, at Estoril in Portugal, with four races remaining in total.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1stTime: 44′32.882
“This is a great feeling! It’s taken me some time to get used to Misano and view it as a ‘home’ race because Mugello is so special to me, but I can honestly say that winning here today, in front of everyone dressed in yellow and with 46s everywhere, is a great emotion and I want to thank everyone for making it so special. Today I had to go quite carefully with the full tank at the start and I took some time to get to the front but once I was there it was great and my bike felt fantastic. We didn’t expect to be this competitive here but it’s been a perfect weekend, so I have to say a huge thank you to the team for a brilliant job. Since Indianapolis, when I made that mistake, we have been so focused and concentrated and everyone deserves this result. I was the ‘flying donkey’ today! I am happy that we are going into a month without racing with these memories and this points lead, but as we saw in Indy everything can change quickly so we will be fully focused once again in Estoril when we come back.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2ndTime: +2.416
“I did what I had to do today and took as many points as I could, which is the most important thing when you’re not perfect. Unfortunately we struggled a bit all weekend to find the right setting and so I thought it was better to take care and ensure the second place today. I took some time to get past Dani and Toni and then it was too far to Valentino. After I was nearly brought down on the second corner I wanted to make sure I got the points in order to keep the championship alive. We have some work to do but we will make sure we’re back to our best in Estoril, where I have great memories from last year and my first win.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“I think it’s been a perfect weekend! We came here after Indy feeling very motivated to make sure we got a good result and we’ve done just that. We led in almost all the sessions, took the pole and won the race. The team and the engineers worked in a fantastic way because the bike, since Friday afternoon, worked well and we only had to fine-tune it to get the perfect setting for today. We have to continue in this way for the last four rounds, with the same system, and we’re looking forward to the next one. We’ve increased the gap and decreased the number of races so this is the right way forward for us! Congratulations to all the team and thank you for such a good reaction to last weekend, this is a great reward.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“Overall we’re satisfied with today’s result, although of course our aim is to win races and try to keep the tension on this fantastic championship to the end. This weekend we encountered a few more difficulties with the setting but today we were in better shape for the race than we were in all the practice sessions so this is positive. The championship is difficult but we will fight to the end and keep trying to improve at every race.”

Toseland a gallant tenth, Edwards makes early exit at Misano

James Toseland finished a gallant tenth at a sunny and hot Misano after making a superb recovery from a chaotic start to the San Marino Grand Prix.

However his Monster Yamaha Tech3 teammate Colin Edwards was not so lucky with the Texas Tornado making an early exit in a wild turn one crash. Edwards was an innocent victim when hit from behind by Italian rider Alex de Angelis with Nicky Hayden also being bumped out of the race.

It was a frustrating outcome to a promising weekend with Edwards on the pace for top four place. It was the first time this season in which Edwards has not scored championship points and he has now slipped from fifth to sixth in the standings behind Andrea Dovizioso.

Toseland was also a victim of the messy first corner action which spread the field with the Briton settling in tenth position at the end of lap one after starting fourteenth. Toseland quickly matched his qualifying pace that showed he had the speed for a potential top six finish.

The race was watched by 55,000 spectators in glorious late summer weather with factory Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo finishing first and second.

Colin Edwards – Position: DNF
“I thought I had the pace to easily be fourth and maybe fight with Pedrosa for a podium but we are in Italy and occasionally you have to deal with an Italian rider who wants to be a hero and today that was De Angelis. Turn one at the start with seventeen bikes is not the place to be going at race pace and he was never going to make through there. Today De Angelis is the guy who needed to be wearing Valentino’s donkey helmet. I didn’t know what happened until I was sliding through the gravel. Turn one is the most dangerous time to crash with so many bikes around you, it is unacceptable. I’ve been fighting with Dovizioso in the championship most of the season and now he has ten points on me with four races to go. That’s racing.”

James Toseland – Position: 10th Time: +0′38.347
“The incident at turn one really spilt the pack and I saw it all unfolding and it was unfortunate for Colin and Nicky to go out like that. I am not pleased with tenth place but I am pleased about my lap times in the race. I was matching Dovizioso and Capirossi except for the last five laps because I chose the softer tire at the rear. We changed to a softer fork springs at the front for the race which made the bike smoot her over the bumps and without that turn one incident I think I had a chance of tagging along for a top six finish. I found it difficult to find a comfortable setting this weekend and we went in circles a little while trying understand the new front geometry with this set-up, but the guys in the team did a great job. At the end I could see Capirossi ahead at every corner so I knew I was doing a good pace so it is frustrating when you can’t be up there fighting for a better result.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“It was a very disappointing day, Colin had the pace for at least fourth position although you have to see the chequered flag to get a result. Before the race I sat down with Colin and told him that it looks good for him but I was worried about the Gresini Honda riders who need to have good results. Alex de Angelis is a nice guy but this is not the correct way to go racing, he did not do it on purpose but this type of incident can be very dangerous. It is a pity because we have lost points in the team championship and now Colin is sixth in the riders’ championship. James lost ground early in the race but his lap times were very close to the battle for fourth and fifth place but he had too much ground to make up. Now we cross our fingers for better results in the final four races.”

Circuit Length: 4060
Weather: Sunshine

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) marked today’s announcement that they will continue with the team next season with solid third and fourth-place results in the San Marino Grand Prix held at Misano Adriatico, Italy.

Pedrosa enjoyed a strong ride this afternoon, spending the first quarter of the race out front, with Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo chasing hard. Ultimately, however, he didn’t have the pace to stay ahead throughout the race and he had to be happy with third for his seventh podium finish of 2009. The result also moved him into third place in the World Championship, ahead of the absent Casey Stoner (Ducati).

The race was run in hot, sunny conditions, though a cooling sea breeze kept temperatures lower than they had been on Friday and Saturday. Pedrosa once again got a great start, leading the pack into the first corner after a brilliant getaway from second on the grid. His RC212V’s awesome straight-line performance – once again he had the fastest bike of the weekend at 279.7km/h (173.8mph) – helped him stay in front for seven laps. He then ran second until lap 13, then third until the chequered flag. The race was won by series leader Rossi, who lives just 16km (10 miles) from Misano, with team-mate Lorenzo second.

Dovizioso rode a good race from the third row of the grid, completing the first lap in sixth place and then steadily working his way forward into fourth spot. During the later stages he enjoyed a spirited duel with Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), Dovizioso finally bettering his fellow Italian with a brilliant pass on the final lap. This was Dovi’s first race with Öhlins suspension.

Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) made great use of his second-row start to roar past Rossi into second place at the first corner. The hard-riding Spaniard then grabbed the lead from Pedrosa as they attacked the Carro hairpin for the first time, but he ran wide and Pedrosa immediately regained his position. From there Elias slipped behind the leading contest to finish a very respectable sixth, less than two seconds behind Capirossi and Dovizioso.

Team-mate Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) had a less happy day. The San Marino rider was involved in a turn two pile-up which sidelined him, Colin Edwards (Yamaha) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati). Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was also involved in the melee, running off the track as he took avoiding action. The Frenchman, who broke his left ankle a month ago, regained the track in last position and had to work hard to come through to finish 12th.

Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) made an excellent start to the race and ran with riders Marco Melandri (Kawasaki), Mike Kallio (Ducati) and James Toseland (Yamaha) for the first few laps. He ended the race feeling physically strong, convinced he has found a direction which will help him at the last four races of the year.

World 250 leader Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) fought like a lion in his 100th GP race, battling for third place with title rival Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) and the Spaniard’s team-mate Mike Di Meglio (Aprilia). The trio swapped places time and again, Aoyama finally getting ahead of both Aprilias in the final lap, only to lose out to Bautista in the dash for the line and the final podium place. With four rounds remaining, Aoyama’s points lead has been cut to 13 points. The race was won by Hector Barbera (Aprilia), with Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) second.

Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) produced a brave ride, just a week after suffering a partially dislocated left shoulder at Indianapolis. The Italian took eighth place at the end of a hectic race, crossing the line less than a second behind the factory-spec Aprilia of Alex Debon and just 11.3 seconds behind race winner Barbera.

Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) finished an excellent ninth despite a few issues with machine set-up and injuries. The Spaniard has suffered back problems in recent weeks and although he was seventh during the early stages of the Misano he was later handicapped by arm pump. He also found he lacked rear grip in today’s cooler conditions.

Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) rode superbly once again, fighting hard in the group contesting seventh place. The Thai rider slid off with just five laps to go after narrowly avoiding a collision with De Rosa.

Misano first-timer Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) rode a good race to 12th, his best result since he finished 12th in May’s Spanish GP. Team-mate Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) also rode well, finishing 14th for his third consecutive World Championship points score. Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) slid off unharmed on the fourth lap of the 26 lap race.

MotoGP :
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd.
“A podium finish is a good result for us and I think it fulfilled our potential here this weekend. I made a good start and pushed to the maximum in the opening laps to stay ahead of the others. I was riding really hard and getting quicker every lap which allowed me to keep in front for quite a long time. First Valentino and then Jorge came past though, and they were able to brake harder and get through the corners a little better that me which meant I just couldn’t stay with them. I was actually quite lucky at the end because I ran out of fuel on the slowing down lap and had to hitch a ride back to the pits with Toni Elias. Third is OK here and there was no way I could follow the leader’s rhythm so I’m reasonably satisfied. I’ve moved into third in the championship, but with Casey not riding here it’s not an even situation so I’m not too concerned about that. This weekend I also re-signed with Honda and I’m happy about this. They know my potential very well and I know their potential too, and I’m sure we can work well together into the future.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 4th.
“I pushed 100 per cent in the first laps. I had a good feeling with the bike but unfortunately on lap seven I made a mistake at turn 11 and I lost contact with the front riders. This mistake compromised the race as after that I couldn’t stay with the leaders. In the last laps I had quite a battle with Capirossi for fourth place. He was braking very hard but in the end I passed him and closed every gap so that he couldn’t get past again. I’m happy with this weekend. This was the first weekend with Öhlins and of course we couldn’t have the perfect set-up but this is just the start and I’m very confident for the future. I’m happy too because I renewed my contract with Honda. This is my first year in the factory Honda team and I feel that I still haven’t shown my full potential. I know the machine better and we are working together in preparation for next year. Honda is working very hard and I believe in the project.”

Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 6th.
“I have mixed feelings about that race because sixth place is a decent result but after making such a good start it could have been so much better. The team have done a great job with the bike over the weekend after a terrible first day but for some reason it wasn’t quite right today after only a few laps. We have to look at why that was because once again we have shown the pace to run with the very best in this class. We have a bit of a break now which is not ideal for me because I’d like to get back on track as soon as possible, but we will try to use it as best we can and look forward to going to Estoril, a circuit where I have great memories thanks to my MotoGP victory with the Gresini team in 2006 and where we will look to recover even more points.”

Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 12th.
“We expected a better result here. I was unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I’m happy because at least I escaped unhurt from the turn two incident. We have had three difficult race weekends since my injury, but we were able to score some more points here and that’s a positive. We made a great job in spite of my ankle injury, and although I’m not yet fully fit we improved our lap times over the three days and we are back in the mid-pack. The coming three weeks off will give me a chance to recover from my injury, so I will try to improve my World Championship position once we return to action in Portugal.”

Gabor Talmacsi, Scot Honda: 14th.
“That was a three-part race for me. I was strong at the beginning, when I was able to catch Melandri, then the middle part of the race was not good. Finally, the last part was better, I was able to improve my lap times and I felt physically good all the way to the finish.”

Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini: DNF.
“I got a decent start and thought I could make some more ground up on the inside in the second turn but I went in too deep. Colin cut in front of me and I braked as hard as I could to avoid him but the front folded and I hit him. Unfortunately Nicky was hit as well and I apologise to both of them. Unfortunately these things happen in racing and I am desperately disappointed because this is my home race, there were a lot of people here supporting me and I wasn’t able to deliver a good result. It is especially frustrating because we had the potential to put a really good race together here after another excellent weekend but we’ll take the positives out of it and try to continue with our recent progress at Estoril.”

250cc :
Hiroshi Aoyama, Scot Honda: 4th.
“My rhythm was better than Bautista’s but he put up a great fight, and overtaking him was very difficult. I was so close to getting a podium finish, the difference between the two of us at the finish line was determined by the difference in power. Anyway, it was a good race for us.”

Raffaele De Rosa, Scot Honda: 8th.
“Not bad, considering what happened in practice when we suffered an electronic gremlin which we only managed to fix during morning warm-up. That meant we did not have enough time to work as we wanted on chassis set-up, so we couldn’t do better than eighth, even though the tires were quite good today.”

Hector Faubel, Valencia CF-Honda SAG: 9th.
“In the morning we had an issue with the engine and we lost too much time fixing it to test some new chassis settings for today’s lower track temperature. I couldn’t exit corners at 100 per cent because the rear would not grip, so I couldn’t hold on to the fourth place I had early on. As if that wasn’t enough, I could not physically perform at my best because I had some arm pump in the later stages.”

Shoya Tomizawa, Team CIP Honda: 12th.
“That was a great race for me, and it feels very good to get some more points. To get a good result here was important because I found this track really difficult for my riding style – most of the corners are so tight and slow. Now I go home to Japan where I will keep training hard to be ready for Portugal next month.”

Valentin Debise, Team CIP Honda: 14th.
“I’m mostly happy with that race. My lap times were pretty consistent throughout and we got some more points, my third score in a row. We had a few issues with machine balance here – this is a very ‘front-end’ circuit, which means you focus on the front, and then maybe you lose a little rear performance.”

Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: DNF.
“It was a shame to fall down and finish another race without scoring points. I did not want to finish tenth again and so I tried my hardest to pass other riders. When I passed Faubel I lost a position to De Rosa and later when I had to avoid crashing into him I lost the rear, and that was the end for me. I’ve got some abrasion to my lower back but I’m mostly just disappointed because I expected to get a great result. Now I go to Thailand to recover physically and mentally, and I hope to finish higher up in the last four races of the season.”

Bastien Chesaux, Racing Team Germany Honda: DNF.
“I’m very disappointed with my crash. I got a good start, then lost a few places when things got hectic in the first two laps, then crashed on the fourth lap. I got on the gas hard and lost the rear. It’s a real shame but the important thing is that I was fighting hard – I really wanted some more points.”

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Nicky Hayden was cruelly sent tumbling out of the San Marino Grand Prix on the opening lap of a disastrous race at Misano after colliding with wayward local rider Alex de Angelis. Hayden had made a superb start from the second row of the grid and was ideally placed to maximise the optimum race pace he had shown in practice and warm-up. However, a late braking manoeuvre from the San Marinese in the second turn left the American with no time or space to react and his rear wheel was clipped, sending him to the ignominy and frustration of the gravel trap.

Consolidation was at hand for the team thanks to a creditable seventh place finish for Mika Kallio, making his final appearance for the team before making way for regular rider Casey Stoner. The Australian was given a huge show of support today by the thousands of Ducatisti packed into the “Variante del Parco” corner, who held up a giant mosaic that read ‘I love 27’ before roaring on Kallio to his best ever MotoGP result. The Finn now returns to the satellite Pramac Ducati team with the thanks and best wishes of everybody at Ducati Marlboro Team, who eagerly await the return of Stoner in Estoril.

MIKA KALLIO (Ducati Marlboro Team) (7th)
“It wasn’t a perfect race and there is always something we can improve on but I think we can be more or less happy with that. I made a decent start but I lost some positions in the first corner, which I wasn’t happy about, and then the crash in turn two happened right in front of me. I had to back off and pick a line through the debris, which cost me time and a couple of positions. The guys who came past were slower than me but I struggled to find places to pass them over the opening few laps. By the time I worked myself up to seventh the group of Elias, Dovizioso and Capirossi was four seconds clear of me. I was gaining on them in some areas and losing in others, Melandri was also pushing me hard from behind so I couldn’t relax at any point. It was a tough race and I’d hoped for more – maybe a top five or top six position, but unfortunately we lost that possibility at the start. Finally I’d like to thank everybody at Ducati for the faith they showed in me by giving me the ride and the support they have given me over the last few races, and I wish Casey well on his return. Hopefully I can take some positives back to my team and continue to make progress between now and the end of the season.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) (DNF)
“It’s easy to say it now but I just know I was set for a good race today so I’m extremely disappointed. Maybe I wasn’t going to win the race but I at least could have run with the front guys for a while and given all the Ducatisti to cheer for, as well as picking up some vital experience and data for this machine and having some fun myself! To be honest I had a feeling De Angelis might create some drama here. He’s at home and fighting for his job and when I saw him in the corner of my eye I just tried to gas it and get out of his way. Unfortunately he slightly clipped my rear wheel and that was the last I knew about it. I know in racing people can make mistakes and I have done plenty in my life but I’m not happy with Alex because this wasn’t racing – it was just stupid to try and pull a move like that on cold tires, in the second corner on the first lap. Anyway, we’re all okay and looking forward to Portugal.”

CLAUDIO DOMENICALI (General Director Ducati Motor Holding)
“Today was a day to reflect on because there were plenty of positives and negatives to take out of it: I’m really disappointed for Nicky because he was having a good weekend and we had made a tire choice for the race that gave him even more confidence with the front. The incident, which he was not responsible for at all, definitely denied him the chance of a great race. Mika picked up his best result of the season here after setting a good pace throughout the race. Obviously we are all missing Casey a lot, as are our fans, who made that wonderful gesture with the giant heart. This GP signals the end of a period in which we have had to manage without him and they have been a difficult few weeks, but I am extremely satisfied with the way everybody in the team has pulled together. So I want to personally thank all of them – from Filippo (Preziosi), who has worked hard to make the bike more manageable, Livio (Suppo), who has led the team on the battlefield, and all the other guys who have never given less than their maximum every day.”
Podium San Marino and Riviera di Rimini GP 2009
1st Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 2nd Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), 3rd Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
Fastest lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1’34.746 – 160.572 Km/h

Circuit Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1’34.746 – 160.572 Km/h
2009 Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1’34.338 – 161.266 Km/h
Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’33.378 – 162.924 Km/h

Riders World Championship
1st Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 237 points; 2nd Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 207; 3rd Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 157; 4th Casey Stoner (Ducati) 150; 5th Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 133; … 14th Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 73; 15th Mika Kallio (Ducati) 51.

Constructors World Championship
1st Yamaha (305 points); 2nd Honda (220); 3rd Ducati (191); 4th Suzuki (120); 5th Kawasaki (87)
(The Ducati grandstand’s picture is a courtesy of motogp.com)

Fiat Yamaha riders on flying form in sweltering Misano

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo looked ready for business at Misano on the Italian Riviera today, putting in some impressive times and finishing the day first and second, several tenths ahead of the next fastest rider. This was despite the uncomfortably hot and humid weather, although a forecast late rain shower tonight promises to cool things down a little for tomorrow.

It was Lorenzo, fresh from his victory in Indianapolis just five days ago, who looked in command for the early part of the session as he immediately found a good setting and set about improving his time lap by lap. In the last twenty minutes however Rossi made a step forward and was able to join his team-mate lapping in the 1’35s, the local favourite eventually finishing the session a tenth ahead of the Spanish challenger. There was a further gap of over six tenths back to Dani Pedrosa in third, promising another tense weekend of racing between the Fiat Yamaha pair.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1st Time: 1′35.304Laps: 29
“This is more the weather for the beach than for the racetrack, today was unbelievably hot! The first session was much better than in Indy though and I am quite happy. We have made a few experiments with different settings and then at the end when we put everything together with the right tire, I was able to do three fast laps and finish first. It’s a good sign to be in this shape already on Friday and now we just have to improve a bit more tomorrow because it’s very important here to be on the front row. It’s quite a tricky track and you have to be quite careful in some places, but my bike felt good today.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2ndTime: 1′35.430Laps: 29
“Today was very hot which meant it quite hard to ride, and also the track is quite slippery here. I felt comfortable on my bike from the start and I was able to be quite fast, which is always encouraging, but I think we have some more work to do because we’re not perfect yet and the front could be better, especially on the entry to the corners. Tomorrow we will try to work on this and especially on T2 and T3, because these are the areas where we are losing some time. Valentino is very strong, as I expected because it’s his home and he won last year, so we will have to be at the maximum to be able to fight with him.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We did a lot of work today and it looks like we’ve done a good job. We worked on both bikes and all the tires and by the end of the session Valentino had a good pace and rhythm. We hope that we have found a good base on which we can build tomorrow. The important thing is that we continue to fine tune the setting in the morning so that we’re at our best tomorrow afternoon and Sunday.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“A good start here in Misano, in extremely hot weather. Jorge found a good pace from the beginning of the session but we need to improve the feeling with the front because this track is very demanding on it. We already tried some different settings during the session and we collected some good data in order to help us to improve our package for tomorrow.”

Edwards opens with sixth fastest time in heat wave at Misano

Texan Colin Edwards posted the sixth fastest time in a hot and steamy opening free practice session at the Misano World Circuit today. Joining Edwards in the top ten was his Monster Yamaha Tech3 teammate James Toseland who was ninth and just half a second outside the top four.

Both Edwards and Toseland have carried the momentum of strong performances in last Sunday’s Indianapolis GP to their early preparations for the Misano race. Edwards, who feels he can easily find another half second with a gearing change, held a top four spot until the final minutes of the session as he concentr ated on his race day set-up.

Toseland was also in a buoyant mood. The Briton was sixth with five minutes remaining and is confident of maintaining that pace with further gains in rear end grip over the bumpy Misano tarmac. Track temperatures hit 45 degrees C with the hot weather forecast to continue for this late summer race, round 13 of the MotoGP world championship.

Colin Edwards – Position: 6th Time: 1′36.350 Laps: 26
“We got a lot of work done, the bike was very close to begin with and with a rear setting adjustment and a switch to the hard tires, the bike started feeling really good. But it was hot, it felt like nine million degrees. But the heat wasn’t that bad for seven laps runs but if it’s like this on Sunday then 28 laps here is going to be tough. I was sitting 4th for a long time and I know some of these guys just mess around the whole session and the catch onto somebody to ado a hot lap at the end. But my bike feels slow. I know we have the same gearing as last year but the bike is not reacting, it feels like there is no bottom end and you have to keep the RPM up and carry astronomical corner speeds. I guess it is the long life engines, we have lost some of the bottom end that Yamaha made such a good step on earlier this year. We plan to shorten the gearing for tomorrow and I reckon I have half a second in three corners just from that.”

James Toseland – Position: 9th Time: 1′36.588 Laps: 27
“It didn’t seem hot on the bike but the humidity was high and that really got to you so its going be pretty physical if it is this temperature on Sunday. You need the bike to work well here because if you are battling with the bike in this temperature then it is hard work. This is one of my better Friday session this season and we started with the Indianapolis set-up and just made some small changes. The bike is a little bit aggressive on the rear over the bumps so we are working to smooth that out. The track is quite bumpy this year but it always is around here and you forget how bad the bumps are. I got up to sixth at one point and then dropped to ninth but only 0.5s off fourth. I’m pleased, a good session for a Friday.”

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Nicky Hayden and Mika Kallio are confident of putting on a performance to delight the thousands of Ducatisti in the crowd at tomorrow’s San Marino Grand Prix after qualifying sixth and eleventh respectively in this afternoon’s qualifying session. Hayden was the second fastest rider on track in the first and final sections of the Misano circuit but, like yesterday, he struggled with the fast right-hander in T3. However, on his penultimate lap the American shaved two tenths off his previous best through that sector alone to improve his overall best time by three tenths and move up to the second row for the second successive race. Kallio also made progresses but not enough to improve his position on the time sheets and the Finn will start from row four.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (6th; 1’35.223)
“This morning I had a really good feeling with the bike and put together a good rhythm – I was fastest in T4 and that’s the first time this year I’ve been fastest at anything in the dry! I’d hoped to improve and do my best dry qualifying of the year this afternoon but to begin with the track was a little warmer and I didn’t get that same level of feeling, so we had to make some tweaks to the set-up. Like I say, I’d hoped to do better than what I did but we got on the second row and our focus turns to tomorrow. I need to get a great start because those first two or three turns are going to be harsh – everybody will be fighting for positions and there’s a good chance of some drama there! We want to get through that cleanly and as high up the order as possible in the early stages. From there it’s a case of giving my maximum for all the Italian fans and trying to put their bike up front. It is great to have their support here and all the staff from Bologna – Claudio (Domenicali), Filippo (Preziosi), Vitto (Guareschi), Alan (Jenkins)… It’s fun and I’m enjoying having them around so hopefully we can celebrate a result together tomorrow.”

MIKA KALLIO (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (11th; 1’35.601)
“We have improved by eight tenths of a second on yesterday, which isn’t bad but clearly isn’t enough because the other guys have improved more. We’ve tried many things this weekend to try and get a better feeling with the front but we’re still not getting the feedback we would like and we’re struggling to work out why that is. Now we need to think carefully about what we try in the morning because confidence is a big issue and if we go completely in the wrong direction it can be damaging. We’ll make some small modifications that I hope can be enough to help me push more and get more out of the bike in the race.”

Circuit Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2008), 1’34.904 – 160.305 Km/h
Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’33.370 – 162.924 Km/h
Circuit Length: 4.226 km
MotoGP Race 2009: 28 laps (118.328 km)
MotoGP Schedule 2009: 14:00 Central Europe Time

Just a week after celebrating a podium finish for Nicky Hayden in his own home race at Indianapolis, the Ducati Marlboro Team heads to the factory’s second home race this weekend as the series returns to Europe and the Misano circuit on the Adriatic coast. The American, who is hugely popular amongst Ducatisti thanks to his cheerful character and determined approach to racing, will be congratulated and supported by thousands of them – packed once again into the “Variante del Parco” corner. And whilst all those Ducatisti had also been looking forward to welcoming back their favourite, Casey Stoner, the 2007 race winner’s replacement in the Ducati Marlboro Team, Mika Kallio, will get just as much support. Eighth place for the flying Finn at Indianapolis equalled the best result of his debut MotoGP season so far but he remains unsatisfied and is confident of more at Misano.

Despite contesting the practice and qualifying sessions Hayden missed last year’s race at Misano due to the effects of a foot injury, whilst in 2007 after starting from the front row he was forced off track by a crash for De Puniet on the first lap and could only manage thirteenth. Kallio has shown good pace at this circuit during practice for the 250cc races over the past two seasons but he was unable to finish in either of them.

NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team (12th in the championship on 73 points)
“The little time we’ve had since Indy has flown by and even though I would have liked to have a bit more time to reflect on last weekend, Misano is right on us and that is what we have to focus on. Last year I rode in practice but wasn’t able to take part ion the race because of my foot injury but I like the circuit – there are a couple of fast right-handers at the end of the lap in particular that are a lot of fun. At Mugello I realised how special it is to race for Ducati in Italy so hopefully I can give all the Ducatisti even more reason to party. I know it won’t be easy and I can’t get overconfident even though everything went so well at Indy. I’ve learnt that this bike can quickly put you back in your place if you get cocky so once again I’ll just be putting my head down and giving it my maximum.”

MIKA KALLIO, Ducati Marlboro Team (15th in the championship on 42 points)
“I equalled my best ever MotoGP result at Indianapolis and even though the race went better than practice I still wasn’t satisfied. My main objective now is to find another half a second off my lap times and to do that I simply need to find more confidence in the front end of the bike. I know the potential is there so hopefully I can make the most of it at Misano. It is not exactly my favourite circuit but it’s okay. In 2007 I went pretty fast in practice – not so much last year – and crashed out of the race both times. Hopefully this year we can build on the work we did at Indy and get a good result.”

LIVIO SUPPO, MotoGP Project Director
“We arrive at Misano in high spirits thanks to Nicky’s excellent performance at Indy and we are happy to be getting back on track and hopefully continue with this positive trend of results. Mika will be with us once again as we await the return of Casey at Estoril and I really hope he is able to reap the fruit of all his recent hard work. He has demonstrated during his debut season in MotoGP that he has what it takes to do well and I’m sure he will confirm his potential soon.”

THE TRACK
The Misano Autodrome was built in the early 1970s, measuring a mere 3.488km in its original form. In 1993 it was extended to 4.060km before further modifications between 1996 and 1998 saw the pit garage and paddock complex extended and updated. For the majority of the Italian riders in the World Championship this is their true home round because they hail from this part of Italy. The current circuit layout, which was reversed from anti-clockwise to clockwise before the return of MotoGP following a 16-year hiatus in 2007, is simple in appearance but in reality it is very technical. In general it is a tight track, characterised by a prevalence of slow corners – with the notable exception of the fast and extremely demanding ‘Curvone’ right-hander.

MISANO CIRCUIT RECORDS

Circuit Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2008), 1’34.904 – 160.305 Km/h
Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’33.370 – 162.924 Km/h
Circuit Length: 4.226 km
MotoGP Race 2009: 28 laps (118.328 km)
MotoGP Schedule 2009: 14:00 Central Europe Time

Podium 2008: 1st Valentino Rossi, 2nd Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd Toni Elias
Pole 2008: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’33.378 – 162.924 Km/h

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT MISANO
2008: 9th (Melandri)
2007: 1st (Stoner)

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM – RIDER INFO

NICKY HAYDEN
Age: 28 (born 30th July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA)
Residency: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP9
GP Appearances: 111 (110xMotoGP)
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
Number of victories: 3 (3xMotoGP)
First GP victory: USGP, 2005 (MotoGP)
Pole positions: 5 (5xMotoGP)
First Pole: USGP, 2005 (MotoGP)
World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006)

Hayden’s MotoGP track record at Misano:
2008  Grid: 16th. Race: N/A
2007: Grid: 3rd. Race: 13th

MIKA KALLIO
Age: 26 (born 8th November 1982 in Valkeakoski, Finland)
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP9
GP Appearances: 126 (11xMotoGP, 33×250, 82×125)
GP Victories: 12 (5×250, 7×125)
First GP victory: Portugal, 2005 (125)
First GP: Germany, 2001 (125)
Pole positions: 14 (2×250, 12×125)
First Pole: Portugal, 2005 (125)
World Titles: -

Kallio’s 250cc track record at Misano:
Grid: 5th. Race: DNF
Grid: 10th. Race: DNF

Just one week after their last outing at Indianapolis in the USA, the Fiat Yamaha Team will arrive on home shores this week for the second Italian round of the season, at Misano on the east coast of Italy. They touch down in fine style with riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo first and second in the championship and having won eight out of the twelve races between them so far this season. Misano is just 300km from the team’s base just outside Milan and with many Italian team members it is an important weekend for all.

Rossi’s crash last Sunday saw his championship lead slashed to 25 points but the Italian favourite has quickly put that behind him and is thinking of nothing but a good result in front of his passionate home fans this week. Misano is just 15kms from his home town of Tavullia and he took an emphatic win there last year to the delight of his hordes of Tifosi. Having lost for the first time in eight years at Mugello this year he is doubly determined to make his second visit to home soil this season a fruitful one.

Spanish showman Lorenzo arrives his team-mate’s home race full of confidence after a return to the top step of the podium last time out. He has lost both Spanish races this season to Rossi and is therefore hoping for payback in Italy. He rode one of the best races of his rookie season there last year and will be aiming for more of the same this time as he seeks to stay in touch with Rossi at the top of the championship at a track he loves, having won there in the 250cc class two years ago.

Grand Prix racing returned to Misano in 2007 after a 16-year gap, with the circuit altered to run in the opposite direction from previous years. Just a kilometre from the sea and Italy’s famous ‘east coast Riviera,’ the track sits nestled between a string of small towns and villages, which turn into one huge party zone for the thousands of fans that pack into them during the race weekend. Like Indianapolis last weekend, Misano is completely flat but the similarities end there as the Italian track is tight and twisty, with no long straights and a fairly equal balance of right and left corners, meaning an agile bike is a must.

Valentino Rossi – “Keep working at the maximum”
“I’m glad we don’t have long until the next race because I quickly want to forget the mistake of Indianapolis! Last year at Misano was incredible, to win in front of all my fans and so close to home was a great emotion and after missing out in Mugello this year we are really focused on trying to get the best result there. As usual my Fan Club will make a big party there so I hope that we can give them a good show, it’s always great to ride at home. As we saw last weekend, anything can happen and the championship isn’t over, we have to keep working at the maximum and just try to take as many points as we can each time.”

Jorge Lorenzo – “Hoping for a good battle”
“Misano is one of the tracks where I was very fast in the past, so I’m really looking forward to going there in such good shape. I won in 2007, the first year we went there, on my 250cc bike and last year I was not far behind Valentino in second. I am very happy that I have cut the championship lead by 25 points in just one race, but I know that the title is still very difficult. My first aim is to keep enjoying riding my bike and try to do the best I can. I hope we can be as good as last year or even better, even though I know how hard it will be the best at Valentino’s ‘house’! I hope everyone there gets to see a big battle!”

Davide Brivio – “Hit-back with a good result”
“Of course we’re disappointed about last weekend but we know we’re still in a strong position in the championship and this is what we’re focusing on. 25 points isn’t much when our rivals are this strong though so we need to hit back at our home race this weekend with a good result. Last year we did a great race there and it was wonderful to watch Valentino in front of all the fans, so we hope we can do the same again this weekend. We will keep pushing, try to find a good set-up early and hopefully we can come back to our best.”

Daniele Romagnoli – “The excitement is building”
“After the great result in Indy the team and Jorge have a great motivation to keep focused and to try to make the podium every time. Last year we had a great race in Misano and Jorge likes the circuit layout a lot. It’s also the second home Grand Prix for the team, which makes it a special weekend. The championship is still very difficult but we will try, if possible, to keep recovering points and to stay in a position to challenge. Now the excitement is starting to build build towards the season finale and I think everyone will enjoy the fight to the end!”

Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 30
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 102 (81 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 222 (162 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 57 (44 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
World Championships: 8 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP)

Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 22
Lives: Barcelona, Spain
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 25 (4 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 123 (29 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 33 (7 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 (250cc, 2006/7)

Misano: Record Lap
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2008, 1′34.904

Misano: Best Lap
C.Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1′33.378

Grand Prix Results: Misano 2008
1. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 44′41.884
2. J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) +3.163
3. T. Elias (Ducati) +11.705