The world championship heads to Misano for round thirteen just one week after Valentino Rossi’s crash and Jorge Lorenzo’s win at Indianapolis tightened up the title fight. Rossi now leads the championship by 25 points over Lorenzo, and he’ll be tough to beat at his home circuit, “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”. But Lorenzo has shown that he has the talent to beat his teammate, "Misano is one of the tracks where I was very fast in the past. I won in 2007 on my 250cc bike, and last year I was not far behind Valentino in second. I know how hard it will be to be the best at Valentino's house”.
2009 Qualifying Results - Rossi quickest
2008 Misano Race Results
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
3. Toni Elias (Ducati)
With five rounds left in the championship there are plenty of points up for grabs. Dani Pedrosa’s run from last to tenth after crashing while leading has put him within nine points of the absent Casey Stoner. Colin Edwards will have a hard time fighting off Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Honda for fifth place. Dovizioso has a first and two fourths in his last three outings, and he’ll be switching over to Ohlins forks and shocks for the rest of the season.
212 Valentino Rossi
187 Jorge Lorenzo
150 Casey Stoner
141 Dani Pedrosa
123 Colin Edwards
120 Andrea Dovizioso
88 Alex De Angelis
86 Loris Capirossi
84 Randy De Puniet
79 Marco Melandri
77 Chris Vermeulen
73 Nicky Hayden
72 James Toseland
70 Toni Elias
42 Mika Kallio
The points chase after the top six is up for grabs with seventh through fourteenth separated by just 18 points. Nicky Hayden has seen gradual improvement, and although he benefited from the crashes of Pedrosa and Rossi to finish third at Indianapolis it looks like he’s finally getting a handle on the Ducati. The Kentucky Kid got a confidence boost with the announcement that he will be riding the factory Ducati in 2010, “After the good result in Indy, now to renew the deal with Ducati is exactly what I wanted. I’m very happy. I always had faith and believed that we could achieve good results”. Hayden missed last year’s race at Misano due to injury, but started third in 2007.
Randy De Puniet has gone from consistent crasher to consistent finisher on the LCR Honda satellite team this season. The French rider has been working with a trainer, but the switch from Michelin to Bridgestone tires is one reason why he’s crashing less. Riders say the Bridgestone front tire gives them better front end feel, and Casey Stoner is another rider who stopped crashing when he moved to Ducati and started riding on Bridgestone tires. De Puniet recently broke his ankle training on a motocross bike, and x-rays show the damage and how the doctors repaired it so that he could continue to race. Although De Puniet has yet to sign a contract for 2010 it looks like he’ll be back in MotoGP in 2010. He seems to have lock on returning to LCR Honda, but he’s also been mentioned as a possible rider on the Tech 3 Yamaha team.
Dorna has been working in conjunction with the Cameron/Pace designed 3D Fusion system to bring 3D to MotoGP. The camera crew tested the system at the Laguna Seca round earlier this year, and brought a demonstration reel to Indianapolis. Dani Pedrosa liked what he saw, "It was amazing. When you see the images it's really impressive. It's like actually being there at the racetrack". Implementation of 3D is a long way off, and a more logical step for MotoGP would be to start broadcasting the races in HD.
