The action continues to come thick and fast as the MotoGP field returns to the track just five days after the visit to Indianapolis, with the World Championship moving onto Misano for the Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. Jorge Lorenzo remains the rider to catch, having maintained his 100% podium record for the season in the U.S. along with his substantial lead in the standings.
The fact that third place at Indianapolis represented the Fiat Yamaha rider’s worst result of the season to date is testament to his phenomenal form in 2010, and he has now finished on the podium for 12 successive races – stretching back to the final race of last season in Valencia. In his two previous premier class visits to Misano Lorenzo has placed second and will be going for an eighth win of the season on Sunday.
Brimming with confidence will be his main challenger Dani Pedrosa, and the pair’s intense competitiveness has continued throughout the season. The Repsol Honda rider trimmed his rival’s Championship lead to 68 points with victory at Indy, his third of the campaign, and edged back in front of Lorenzo in the GP victory stakes across all classes. The score now is 34-33 to Pedrosa, with Lorenzo leading in terms of premier class wins at 12-11. Last season Pedrosa completed the podium at Misano behind Lorenzo, but will be aiming to upset his adversary’s run to a first MotoGP title and become the first Spaniard to win in the premier class at the circuit.
Further back Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner are separated by just seven points respectively as they continue to contest third position. The Repsol Honda man has a best premier class result of fourth which came last season in his first race on new Öhlins suspension and was disappointed with fifth last time out at Indy. For Stoner it has been two years since he raced at Misano having missed last season due to illness, and he will want to correct his DNF at Indianapolis. A repeat of his 2007 victory from pole would be the perfect remedy for the Ducati Team rider. Superbike News
“In Indianapolis we made some progress with our race setting but the conditions made me realise that I’m still not 100 per cent fit,” said the FIAT Yamaha rider, Valentino Rossi. “It’s hard going straight to Misano with no break but hopefully it will be a little bit cooler than Indy!”
“Of course it’s my home race and it’s near my house so it’s always very special to race there, in front of all of my fans. I have won there the last two years but this year we come in slightly different circumstances. Still, we will be trying our hardest and I really hope I can give the fans a good show!” Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Pos. Rider Bike Points 1 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 251 2 Dani PEDROSA Honda 183 3 Andrea DOVIZIOSOHonda 126 4 Casey STONER Ducati 119 5 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 114 6 Ben SPIES Yamaha 110 7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati 109 8 Randy DE PUNIET Honda 78 9 Marco SIMONCELLIHonda 63 10 Marco MELANDRI Honda 61 11 Colin EDWARDS Yamaha 57 12 Hector BARBERA Ducati 54 13 Loris CAPIROSSI Suzuki 41 14 Aleix ESPARGARO Ducati 39 15 Alvaro BAUTISTA Suzuki 33 16 Mika KALLIO Ducati 31 17 Hiroshi AOYAMA Honda 22 18 Alex DE ANGELIS Honda 11 19 Roger Lee HAYDENHonda 5 20 Kousuke AKIYOSHIHonda 4 21 Wataru YOSHIKAWAYamaha 1
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