Grand Prix racing returned to Misano
in 2007 after a 16-year gap for what is now called
the Grand Prix Cinzano di San Marino e Riviera di
Rimini, with the circuit
altered to run in the opposite direction from
previous years.
Just a kilometer 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 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 dispatched 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: 1st Time:
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 46's 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: 2nd Time:
+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."
Toseland a Gallant Tenth, Edwards
Makes Early Exit at Misano
James Toseland finished 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.
|
2009 MotoGP San Marino - Misano
- September 6, 2009 |
|
Circuit Length: 4060.
Weather: Sunshine. |
|
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'33.378 (Casey
Stoner, 31/08/2008) |
|
Last Year's Winner: Valentino Rossi
|
| |
|
Race Results
|
|
1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 44'32.822
|
|
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 0'02.416
|
|
3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'12.400
|
|
4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'26.330
|
|
5 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 0'26.539
|
|
6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'28.286
|
|
7 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'30.184
|
|
8 Marco Melandri Kawasaki ITA 0'31.757
|
|
9 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'31.909
|
|
10 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'38.347
|
|
11 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 0'46.673
|
|
12 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'52.041
|
|
13 Niccolo Canepa Ducati ITA 1'03.198
|
|
14 Gabor Talmacsi Honda HUN 1'22.347
|
| |
|
Rider Standings As of September 6, 2009
|
|
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 237
|
|
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 207
|
|
3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 157
|
|
4. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 150
|
|
5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 133
|
|
6. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 123
|
|
7. Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 97
|
|
8. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 88
|
|
9. Alex De Angelis Honda SMR 88
|
|
10. Marco Melandri Kawasaki ITA 87
|
|
11. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 84
|
|
12. Toni Elias Honda ESP 80
|
|
13. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 78
|
|
14. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 73
|
|
15. Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 51
|
| |
|
Manufacturer Standings as of
September 6, 2009
|
|
1. Yamaha 305
|
|
2. Honda 220
|
|
3. Ducati 191
|
|
4. Suzuki 120
|
|
5. Kawasaki 87 |
