This weekend’s event at Misano is the beginning of the second half of the WSBK season. Noriyuki Haga leads the championship by 53 points over Ben Spies on the Yamaha and 64 points over Michel Fabrizio on the other factory Ducati. Spies and Fabrizio both made gains on an injured Haga at the recent U.S. round, but Haga should be back on form after three weeks of rest.Haga has only scored 3 podiums in 18 races at Misano, but the circuit was changed after the 2007 race and now the track is raced in the clockwise direction. Haga talked about Misano, “The track is very small and tricky with high-speed corners that require aggressive braking. I prefer the new layout but it remains nonetheless a difficult track for me, I don’t really know why. It’s always so hot there too, so the tire choice really comes into play. Anyway, it will be good to be back in front of the Italian crowds, Misano has been the “home” race for Ducati in the last years. After a crash and the less than perfect results at the last round of Salt Lake, I plan to be back on form and fighting to win at Misano.”
Over the years Ducati has dominated at the Adriatic circuit with 26 podiums in 34 races. Last year’s first WSBK event on the redesigned circuit produced the following results:
Race 1:
1st - Max Neukirchner (Suzuki)
2nd - Troy Corser (Yamaha)
3rd – Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
Race 2:
1st – Ruben Xaus (Ducati)
2nd – Max Biaggi (Ducati)
3rd – Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
This will be Ben Spies first time at Misano, but the WSBK rookie has proven himself to be a quick study when it comes to learning new circuits. He comes into the eighth round of the championship looking for his eighth Superpole. Spies Yamaha Team manager, Massimo Meregalli, talked about the challenges, “Misano will be a very hot race. It is a really tough circuit with many corners and short straights. I think it will be a very hard race for everybody. I’m curious because our previous bike was always fast there during the race but we struggled with tire life problems. Now with the new 2009 R1 bike we are confident we can overcome this as the smooth torque delivery means we can work the tires harder without compromising so much on tire life. After the Miller race the championship is more open, we will do all we can from here to the end of the season to try and catch Nori.”
After getting off to a rough start the Ten Kate Honda team is hoping that the second half of the season will produce better results. The three bike team grabbed two podiums and five top 5 finishes at the U.S. round, and followed that up with a successful test at Magny Cours. Rookie Jonathan Rea has had a solid season, and sits fourth in the championship. He’s seven points ahead of Max Biaggi on the Aprilia. The Italian has been getting more consistent on the new bike with four top 5 finishes in the last five races. Road Racer X talked to Biaggi about the Aprilia when he was at Miller Motorsports Park for the U.S. round.
Free Practice Session #1 - Ben Spies quickest
Qualifying Session #1 - Michel Fabrizio quickest
Qualifying Session #2 - Michel Fabrizio quickest
Superpole - Jakub Smrz quickest
The season is just past the halfway point, but it’s never too early for rumors to circulate about who will be riding what and where next year. David Emmet over at MotoGPMatters filed this update on rider movement for 2010.
Television coverage on Speed:
Race #1 - Sunday (6/19) - 3:30pm (EST)
Race #2 - Sunday (6/19) - 4:30pm (EST)
Weather forecast for Misano:
Fri: Sunny – 90
Sat: Possible showers – 68
Sun: Possible showers - 72
Misano World Circuit
Country: Republic of San Marino
Circuit length: 4.226 km
Pole position: left
Corners left: 6
Corners right: 10
Race distance: 24 laps
