2007 MotoGP - Misano

Casey Stoner.  Photo Courtesy Ducati

Race Results
Stunning double podium for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP!

Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins raced their Rizla Suzuki GSV-R’s to second and third places respectively, to give Suzuki its first double podium in the MotoGP era, at Misano in Italy today.  Casey Stoner walked away with another win, while Valentino Rossi had a DNF to drop 85 points behind Stoner, who looks like he's got the Chamipionship all wrapped up for '07.

Starting from the middle of the third row Vermeulen got a great start and was in fourth place by the first corner.  He made up a further place during the first lap as he passed seven-time World Champion Valentino Rossi, and then set about chasing team-mate Hopkins.

Hopkins had had an equally good start and was straight into second place, close behind eventual winner Casey Stoner.  Hopkins and Vermeulen traded fastest laps over the first six laps of the race before Vermeulen caught and overtook his team-mate on lap six.  Rizla Suzuki’s Australian star closed the gap on his fellow countryman Stoner, but was eventually unable to reel in the runaway championship leader.

A crowd of just over 57,000 bathed in glorious sunshine as they witnessed Suzuki’s first double podium since 2001.  The Team has now moved up into third position in the Team’s Championship and is only two points away from second place.  Vermeulen and Hopkins both consolidated their fourth and fifth places in the rider’s classification and moved even closer to Dani Pedrosa in third after he failed to finish today, having crashed on the first lap.

Chris Vermeulen:  “I am very happy to be on the podium.  I said earlier this year that there would be two Rizla Suzukis on there before the end of the year, and I am very pleased to have been proved right.  Obviously I’m happy to be in front of John, but congratulations to him and the whole team on this great result.  We had no data on the bikes before we came here and Suzuki and Bridgestone have both done a great job to give us such a fantastic package for a new circuit."

"I got a good start from the third row, which was nice because I was dreading starting back there as it is so difficult to pass around here.  I got up to fourth early on, but I still had to pass John and Valentino – two of the hardest guys in the paddock to get around. After I got through them I tried to catch Casey and thought I was doing so, but I think I used up a bit too much of my rear tire trying to catch him and at the end he pulled away a bit.  Once again I would like to pass on my thanks to Tom and all my crew, plus all the guys at Bridgestone for this weekend.”

John Hopkins:  “What can I say, two Rizla Suzukis on the podium so that isn’t too bad a day!  I got a great start which was crucial and I was lucky to avoid the accident at turn one.  I wanted to hang on to Casey early on for as long as I could, the Bridgestone tires worked really well right from the start and the bike also felt good.  I had an incident when I pushed a bit too hard coming in to a fast right and had a big front-end slide.  That cost me some time as it spooked me up a bit and because of that my lap-times dropped off."

"I could hear Chris behind me, he came up the inside and passed me - I knew he had a strong pace and I tried to hang on to him.  I hung on for as long as possible until I had a problem with a knee-slider that came loose and I had to take it off and put it back on!  That is neither here nor there though, Chris and Casey rode at a hell of a pace and I didn’t really have anything for them.  I’m happy to get this position for the Team and for Suzuki.  It’s a great performance today and now we’ll be pushing tomorrow to try and make more improvements.  Then it’s on to Estoril where I have very high hopes!”

Rossi Engine Problems
Valentino Rossi - Position: DNFTime:  "At the start I felt I was lacking some temperature in my tires and so I slipped back a little from my starting position.  However apart from this I felt quite good, stable, with a good rhythm and confident that things would continue to improve as the temperature in my tires increased."

"However on lap five, when I was braking hard, I suddenly felt something go and that was the end of my race.  The engine was the same one that I used at the Brno test and also here in practice and it felt quite good; we don't yet know what the problem was today so we will have to wait until our engineers have had time to examine the situation."

"It would have been great, and very useful, to have a good result here in Misano today.  I like the track a lot and I really wanted to do well in front of all the fans; it was a great emotion for me to see so many people in yellow.  Unfortunately this wasn't the case today and now we know that the championship will be very, very difficult.  Breaking down after just a few laps is frustrating and unlucky, especially because today we had good expectations and we had been fast during practice.  But when bad things like this happen you have only two choices; give up or come straight back and start working again even harder than before."

"This is what we will do at Yamaha; me, my team, the engineers - everyone involved.  We still have five races left and we will keep trying to get the result we deserve.  Once again Stoner deserved to win today, so well done to him.  We have a lot of work to do before Estoril."

Davide Brivio - Fiat Yamaha Team Director:  "We used the new engine today and unfortunately something went wrong.  We don't know yet exactly what, we won't be able to tell until our engineers have had a lot more time to look at it.  It might not have been anything to do with the new technology, we need to check but this can happen and this is racing.  It's just very disappointing for everyone and especially all the thousands of fans who came today to cheer Valentino on..."

2007 MotoGP Championship - Misano Race Results
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 44'34.720; 2. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +4.851; 3. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +16.002; 4. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini +22.737; 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +24.747; 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda LCR +34.986; 7. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda Gresini +40.896; 8. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +41.774; 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing +47.146; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda +48.808; DNF. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +27 Laps

Qualifying
Valentino Rossi returned to the front row of the MotoGP grid today for the first time in three races, qualifying in second position for tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.

The local favorite missed out on pole by 0.176 seconds to Casey Stoner, with Nicky Hayden taking the third spot.  Fiat Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile did not enjoy such a successful session and qualified ninth, on the outside of row three.

After the atrocious weather yesterday caused the afternoon practice sessions to be cancelled, an extra hour was added to this morning's free practice to give the riders as much time as possible to get the hang of the new circuit.

Yesterday's storms seemed to have run their course and the ensuing calm brought out an army of yellow-clad Rossi fans; over 1,000 had made the pilgrimage on foot in the early hours of this morning from nearby Tavullia, where Rossi grew up. A fter two hours of hard work on tires and set-up Rossi was second behind Stoner, with Edwards in fifth.

This afternoon's qualifying session was played out under perfect sunshine with temperatures sitting comfortably in the low twenties.  With ten minutes to go Rossi's first attempt with a qualifying tire moved him momentarily to the top of the time sheets, before he was deposed by Stoner just seconds later.

Edwards also moved into the top flight on his first run before he was nudged down the order as more riders put in fast laps.  The last two minutes of the session saw a flurry of quick times and Rossi's second flying lap shot him into pole, although Edwards was unable to better his position.  Unfortunately for Rossi, Stoner eventually nudged him into second, promising a mouth-watering head-to-head between the pair when the lights go out for tomorrow's 28-lap race.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2ndTime: 1'34.094Laps: 29:  "The atmosphere today was unbelievable, there are so many fans and so much yellow around the circuit; it was really important for me to make a good result like this.  I rode at the maximum today and I'm very happy with the result.  It's been a long time without a front-row start, since Donington, and it's a big relief to be back here again."

"I like this track a lot so far, it's technical and has some really good parts, it's not too tight and it's possible to have fun.  There are some bumps but it's not disastrous and it seems to suit our bike well.  Our Michelin tires are working well here and I can ride the bike how I want to again.  It was also very good with the qualifying tire.  Casey is very fast once again and we know that it's going to be very hard tomorrow, but starting from the front is going to make things much easier and now I am looking forward to a fun race."

Race Preview
The Ducati Marlboro Team comes home to race in Italy for the second time this year, with Casey Stoner leading the MotoGP World Championship aboard his Desmosedici V4.

Winner of seven of the first 12 races so far this season, Stoner arrives at Misano with an impressive 60 point lead in the 18-race series, but the stunningly fast Australian will be treating this race like any other - working to get the best out of his machine and aiming to score another victory on Sunday.

Team-mate Loris Capirossi will also be aiming for the best-possible result at Misano after a difficult race in the Czech Republic a fortnight ago.  The Italian veteran is one of the few current riders who contested the last GP at Misano in 1993, when he finished second in the 250 race.

This weekend's Misano GP will be very different from the 1993 event because the circuit now runs in reverse direction.  The venue will be essentially new to everyone, though Stoner and Capirossi did ride a couple of display laps during the hugely popular World Ducati Weekend in late June, with special dispensation from MotoGP race direction.  As is usual when riders have to acquaint themselves with a new circuit, an extra hour of free practice has been added to the Friday schedule from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Livio Suppo, Ducati MotoGP Project Director:  "As an Italian Factory it is always a special event for us to race in Italy and it is a dream for us to be going to Misano leading the World Championship.  Although we are having a fantastic season we have yet to win a MotoGP race on home tarmac, so Casey and Loris will be doing their best on Sunday.  Casey is doing a fantastic job at the moment, he really is an incredible rider, so talented and so focused, it is a real pleasure to work with him."

Casey Stoner, World Championship leader on 246 points:  "Misano will be a strange race because nobody really knows what it will be like to race a MotoGP bike round there.  Loris and I did two display laps at the World Ducati Weekend because the fans wanted to see the Desmosedici race bike.  The track isn't too bad but I feel it needs to be improved because it's very bumpy, so it's going to be pretty loose on these bikes.  We'll just have to wait and see how it goes, it could be good for us."

"I still want to try and win races, if we do good work in practice and we have a good rhythm, we will try and win, if not we will just do the best job we can.  Every race now I feel less pressure because this season has been unbelievable for us, we've proven we're fast enough, we've already won a few races and we've got a bigger points advantage.  I'm already very happy with the season, so I don't feel any more pressure.  We're getting the results because we all work really hard: Ducati and the team work hard, Bridgestone works hard, I give them good information and I've been training really hard off the track."

Loris Capirossi, 9th overall on 87 points:  "The last time I rode at Misano was in 1993, that's many, many years ago and everything is different now.  Last time there I rode a 250, this time I ride a MotoGP bike, and now the track goes right instead of left.  I did a couple of display laps on the Desmosedici at the World Ducati Weekend in June and before that I rode a lap or two with a Ducati 1098 streetbike when I inspected the track with Valentino [Rossi] for the Safety Commission."

"The layout is completely different from when I last raced there and I don't think it will be easy, especially on a MotoGP bike.  We have an extra hour of practice on Friday to help us understand the circuit a bit better because the layout is very technical with a lot of tight turns.  It's great to have a Grand Prix at Misano once again because everyone in the Emilia Romagna region loves motorcycles so the atmosphere should be huge.  Of course it's another race in front of the Italian fans and I want to do really well.  As always I will do my best and we will be looking for a podium result on Sunday."

The Misano Circuit
Misano returns to the Grand Prix calendar after an absence of 14 years.  But the current circuit, situated near Riccione on Italy's Adriatic coast, is completely different from, running clockwise instead of anti-clockwise.  Misano is mostly dominated by slow-speed corners though the high-speed Curvone right-hander will be a real test of machine performance and rider mettle.

Misano Race Circuit, San Marino & Riviera di Rimini

Misano Factoids Circuit Name: Misano, San Marino Circuit Length: 4060 m Opened: 1972 Lap Record: New track layout for MotoGP

Fiat Yamaha Team Report
The Fiat Yamaha Team make the short trip from their Milan base to the Adriatic coast this weekend for their second ‘home' race of the season as the MotoGP World Championship returns to Misano following a fourteen-year hiatus.

The late summer trip to the lively party resort will be anything but a holiday for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards, however, as they look to overhaul a disappointing run of results and put up a competitive resistance over the final stage of the season.

For Rossi, in particular, this is a crucial opportunity to close the gap on series leader Casey Stoner after conceding 39 points to the Australian over the past three races.

The Italian has not appeared on the podium during that time but he has yet to go four races without a top three finish since his rookie season in 2000 and he certainly will not be short of support in his quest to maintain that record.

Thousands of fans are planning to make the 15km pilgrimage from his hometown of Tavullia to the Misano circuit on foot on Saturday morning and fill the stadium-style banking that surrounds the circuit with his famous yellow colors.

Whilst this will be Rossi's first competitive race at the renowned Italian circuit, his team-mate Colin Edwards has plenty of experience there thanks to his days in the World Superbike Championship, when he finished on the podium on four occasions.

However, the track knowledge he gained during that time will be of little use this weekend, with the circuit now running in the opposite direction.  In order for the riders to get used to the new layout, they will be given an extra hour of free practice on Friday afternoon and each rider's tire allowance has been increased by one front and two rears - taking the total allocation to 15 and 19 respectively.

Valentino Rossi - "We will do our best":  Valentino Rossi's unusual podium dry spell since his victory at Assen two months ago has left him 60 points adrift of Stoner at the top of the championship, with just six rounds remaining to haul himself back into contention.  The multi-World Champion has made a habit of defying the odds throughout his glittering career but is well aware of the challenge ahead and is simply looking forward to performing for his home fans this weekend.

"It's always very special for me to race in front of my home fans and Misano is so close to my home that it should be something amazing!" says Rossi.  "Anyway, we arrive here not in such great shape, following some disappointing races.  We had two days of testing in Brno and, although we weren't able to find the "miracle" tires that we were hoping for, we did give a lot of information to Michelin and hopefully they will have been able to use this to do some good work during this week.  We will see where we are on Friday morning."

"About the track, now they've turned it around it's like a new track for everyone.  Even Colin, who knows it well from Superbikes, is expecting that his previous knowledge won't help, so I think it's fair to say that we're all in the same boat.  As always we will do our best and I sincerely hope that we can give the Italian fans something to cheer about!"

Colin Edwards - "Keep the faith!":  Colin Edwards returned home to Texas for a short break after the Brno tests, which saw him complete extensive tire work alongside Michelin's engineers.  The American also tried some new starting maps but despite his knowledge of the circuit he admits it will be an entirely different kind of map that he will need on Friday morning!

"I remember the old layout well so I think my mechanics are going to have to remind me which way to go round the track!" jokes Edwards.  "Of course I knew the old track well from my Superbike days and I've had some great races there, I liked it a lot.  However all that knowledge is pretty much out of the window now we're going the other way around so I'm pretty much just viewing it as a new track.  Of course I know my way around the town well and where to get the best ice cream, but I think I just need to forget everything else I remember about it!

"The test at Brno was important to try and get some more data for the tires because the new tire rules don't you give much opportunity to try new things during a Grand Prix.  We found a front that I'm pretty happy with and made some improvements with the rear so hopefully that will help.  We're not expecting miracles but we've just got to go step-by-step and keep the faith. I've been home for a few days so I'm well rested and looking forward to reacquainting myself with Misano!"