Herve Pocharal – Team Manager: “This is a great honor to welcome Ayumu Sasaki in my brand-new Moto3 team. After more than 30 years of involvement in the GP paddock, for Tech3 this is be the first time we will race Moto3, so this is clearly a very exciting project, which also counts on manufacturer side, it is very important to have the right rider line-up. As soon as Mr. Pierer, Mr. Trunkenpolz and Mr. Beirer told me in Spielberg that there plan was for us to move to Moto3, we have been thinking of who could be the rider and believe me or not, but the number one name and the only name that came to my mind at that time, was Ayumu Sasaki. I have been following him since the Red Bull Rookies Cup time, I like his riding style, his racing approach and I also like the way he behaves. He is a young man with a lot of charisma and I’m quite sure, we’re going to have a very exciting 2020 season together.
So where can you watch Friday’s action? There will be extensive TV and digital coverage with as many as eleven networks providing live coverage for the series. The first event of the season will be broadcast on Fox Australia, ESPN (which covers Latin America with the exception of Brazil), MTV3 (Finland), SKY Italia, DAZN (Spain), Sony Sports (India), Sky New Zealand, BT Sport (UK), Sportklub (Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro), OTE (Greece) and Super Sport for South Africa..
‘The Doctor’, fresh from the incredible scenes of riding his Yamaha through the streets of his hometown of Tavullia, echoed his teammate’s comments. “For sure here in Misano it’s always a special Grand Prix, it’s really the home Grand Prix. In the last races I was a bit better but in Silverstone after a solid weekend, in the race I wanted to fight for the podium but I was not strong enough. So we will try another time here. We did some test, important test, my pace was quite good, I feel quite well with the bike so we try, we are ready and we will see if we are strong enough to fight for the podium.”
– On Lorenzo’s ‘reset’: “For Jorge, it’s ‘a new start’. ‘A new start’ if he wants, if he has the desire and the motivation. A ‘new start’, not on the bike, but taking risks and thinking ‘hey, in this line of work you can get hurt, and that’s part of the game’.”
“…And the first race where I’m back, I’m leaning off the bike, I start to hit my knee on the ground. So I came in from practice and I said, “Get me super tape,” which is the grey tape. And Kel says, “Why?” I said, “Because I’m dragging my knees.” “No you’re not.” I said, “Yeah, look, I’m dragging my knees.” “No, you’re not going to put tape on your knees. What do you think you’re doing?” My knee’s hitting the ground and it’s jerking off my foot peg. He’s going, “That’s impossible.” “Get my super tape,” and he’s yelling, “You’re going to kill yourself! Your knee’s going to hit a hay bale, your knee’s going to stay there and you’re going to be gone.” And I said, “You know what, that’s probably possible. Give me the tape.”
Nicolo Bulega: “This weekend is going to be filled with emotions, as I’ll be racing at my home GP which is basically one km away from my home. To be riding in front of so many friends and family gives makes me really excited. The agreement with team Gresini for the next two seasons came in what is a very important moment in my career and it gives me fresh motivation. I can’t wait to start this new journey, although the season is still very long; my intention is to work hard to wrap it up the best possible way with y current team, the Sky Racing Team VR46. After six seasons with them, four of which under the SKY Racing Team VR46 banner, it will be strange to be wearing different colours and have a different crew to work with, but I have to thank Fausto Gresini for the faith he put in me. I will try to repay him with great effort, dedication and results.”
According to Taramasso, ensuring there is the best possible grip and stability for heavy braking is of the utmost importance at Mugello. and cornering ability are all crucial around this unique track. Austria’s Red Bull Ring, meanwhile, requires precise throttle control and traction control set-up.
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy this weekend hosts the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, round 13 on this season’s MotoGP calendar. Ahead of what promises to be a ripping weekend lets have a quick look at an update on the MotoGP Statistics.
MotoGP Statistics Update
Alex Rins’ win at Silverstone was the fourth for Suzuki since the introduction of the MotoGP class back in 2002, along with Chris Vermeulen at the French GP back in 2007, Maverick Viñales at the British GP in 2016 and Rins’ win in Texas earlier this year.
Alex Rins – Silverstone MotoGP 2019 – Round 12
Alex Rins became the 12th Suzuki rider to win more than once in the premier class of Grand Prix racing. This was Suzuki’s second win in the MotoGP class at Silverstone since 2002, along with Maverick Viñales in 2016. Overall, Suzuki have had six premier class wins at the track. Salzburgring (7 wins) and Assen (9) are the only other tracks where the Japanese manufacturer has had more than six wins in the premier class.
Alex Rins
“I’m feeling really good about coming to San Marino GP after the great race in Silverstone. After the victory we were back to work with two days of testing in Misano, where we worked on a few little improvements with the bike. I’m really motivated to attack this weekend, especially after a little bit of time to relax and train since the British GP.”
Alex Rins – Misano MotoGP Test Day 1, 2019
In the MotoGP era (post 2002), this is the first time that Suzuki have won more than once in a single season. The last time Suzuki had more than two premier class wins in a season was in 2000 with Kenny Roberts Jr. on his way to clinching the title.
Kenny Roberts Junior (2000)
Following the British GP, Suzuki have scored 166 points in the Constructor’s World Championship classification, which is the highest points accumulated after the opening 12 races by Suzuki since 2007, when they had 171 points at this stage of the season.
Marc Marquez’ second-place finish at Silverstone was the ninth successive race he has finished on the podium. The last time he had nine successive podium finishes was last year between Catalunya and Japan.
At Misano, Marc Marquez will be aiming to finish on the podium at 10 successive races for the first time since he finished on the podium 12 times in a row from the last two races of 2013 through the opening 10 races of 2014.
Marc Marquez
“We arrive at Misano in a good way after some strong races for us and after a productive test. During the test we were able to try many things and get a good understanding of how the Honda is working around Misano this season. I am confident for the weekend but we will face strong opposition as always, especially after the test. Our approach doesn’t change, we have our own plan and we will work towards it and see what happens on Sunday.”
Marc Marquez – Silverstone 2019
Marc Marquez is leading the Championship by 78 points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso; this is the highest margin after the opening 12 races of the season in the premier class since 2014 and the 89-point margin between Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa after the British GP.
Maverick Viñales stood on the podium for 60th time in his Grand Prix career at Silverstone, one less than soon-to-be MotoGP Legend Jorge “Aspar” Martinez, Tom Lüthi and Pier Paolo Bianchi.
In addition, this is Maverick Viñales’s fourth podium finish of 2019 so far, one more than last year at this stage of the season, and his 20th overall since he stepped up to the premier class in 2015.
Maverick Viñales
“We‘ve had a two-week break again, but we have never stopped working during that time. We‘ve been preparing in order to come to Misano in a good physical and mental shape. We are very happy with the positive results of the last races and we have to remain focused to finish the season in a good position in the general classification. Being the first Yamaha is my goal, as always. The test in Misano was useful because we tried many things, not only for next year but also for this current season. The San Marino GP is a kind of home GP for Yamaha and we will have many fans supporting us here, so I can’t wait to get back aboard my M1 and fight for the podium, spurred on by the amazing atmosphere.”
Silverstone was the fourth time since Marc Marquez stepped up to the MotoGP class in 2013 that he was the oldest rider on the podium, along with the Assen last year and Spain this year, also with Alex Rins and Maverick Viñales, and Assen this year with Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo.
Alex Rins tops the podium from Marquez and Vinales – Silverstone MotoGP 2019 – Round 12
Following the British GP, Ducati have scored 211 points in the Constructor’s World Championship classification, which is the lowest points accumulated after the opening 12 races by Ducati since 2016 when they had 172 points at this stage of the season.
At the San Marino GP, Ducati, who won last year with Andrea Dovizioso, will be aiming to become the fifth manufacturer to reach the milestone of 50 premier class wins along with Honda (303 wins), Yamaha (228), MV Agusta (139) and Suzuki (93).
Only one rider has now scored points in all 12 of the MotoGP races in 2019: Danilo Petrucci, who crossed the line in seventh place at Silverstone as the highest-placed Ducati rider.
Danilo Petrucci
“Racing in Italy is something unique and if you do it with an Italian bike like Ducati it’s even more special. In the last few races we’ve been some way off the podium but after the good feeling I had in the test a few days ago here at Misano I can say that I’m ready to do a weekend at the top. It won’t be easy because also our rivals did a couple of days of testing and they will surely be ready, but I was really satisfied with the feeling I found with the bike and so I’m very confident. Let’s see if the track conditions are similar to the ones we had in the test, because it’ll be vitally important to be able to interpret them in the best possible way and also the tyre wear”.
Danilo Petrucci
Jack Miller finished eighth at the British GP and he is now leading the Independent Team rider classification, two points ahead of Fabio Quartararo and six ahead of Cal Crutchlow.
2019 British GP Silverstone Qualifying results: 1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 1’58.168 2 – Valentino Rossi (ITA – Yamaha) +0.428 3 – Jack Miller* (AUS – Ducati) +0.434
Despite crashing on the opening lap at Silverstone, Fabio Quartararo is still leading the fight for the Rookie of the Year with 92 points ahead Joan Mir (39 points), who remained sidelined through injury at Silverstone after a crash at the Brno test, Francesco Bagnaia (29) and Miguel Oliveira (26), who crashed out at Silverstone with Johann Zarco.
The only one of the four rookies in the MotoGP class this year to have previously won at Misano in any of the smaller classes is Francesco Bagnaia, who won last year in the Moto2 class on his way to clinching the title.
Francesco Bagnaia – Misano Moto2 winner in 2018
Along with Francesco Bagnaia (2017 and 2018 in Moto2), Joan Mir (2016 and 2017 in Moto3) and Miguel Oliveira (2015 in Moto3 and 2018 in Moto2) have stood on the podium at the San Marino GP. Bagnaia is the only one who has qualified on pole position at the track.
At the San Marino GP, Franco Morbidelli, who equalled his best result across the line in the premier class at Silverstone in fifth place, is scheduled to make the 100th start of his Grand Prix career.
Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing at Misano
This is the 23rd time that Misano has hosted a Grand Prix event and below are some facts and statistics related to the previous GP events:
The first Grand Prix event to take place at Misano was in 1980; the 500cc race was over 40 laps of the circuit that measured 3.448 km and ran in an anti-clockwise direction. It was won by Kenny Roberts.
The Misano circuit hosted a GP event for a total of 10 occasions between the years of 1980 and 1993.
Misano did not have a Grand Prix event for 13 years following the accident that ended the career of Wayne Rainey in 1993.
Wayne Rainey 1993 Italy
When Grand Prix racing returned to Misano in 2007, it was on a revised 4.18 km layout running in the opposite direction.
There have been 21 previous San Marino Grand Prix events. The first San Marino Grand Prix was held at Imola in 1981. Three different circuits have hosted the San Marino Grand Prix–Imola twice (1981 & 1983), Mugello four times (1982, 84, 91 and 93) and Misano on 15 occasions (1985, 86, 87 and from 2007 onwards).
A total of 48 races for solo motorcycles have been held at Misano for the San Marino Grand Prix since 1985 as follows: MotoGP –12, 500cc–3, Moto2 –9, 250cc–6, Moto3 –7, 125cc–8, 80cc–3.
The MotoGP race this year will be the 350th Grand Prix race in Italy since the first Nations Grand Prix held in 1949 at Monza.
Since Grand Prix racing returned to Misano in 2007, Yamaha is the most successful manufacturer with six wins: three with both Valentino Rossi (2008, 2009 and 2014) and Jorge Lorenzo (2011, 2012 and 2013).
The home crowd went wild at Misano in 2014 as Valentino Rossi took his first victory since Assen the year before. Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa were also on the podium, whilst Marc Marquez finished 15th after a crash.
Honda have had four wins in the MotoGP class at Misano, the last of which was in 2017 with Marc Marquez.
The win for Marc Marquez in 2015 was the first for Honda at Misano since 2010 and followed by four successive wins for Yamaha at this circuit.
Ducati have had two wins at Misano in the MotoGP class, in 2007 with Casey Stoner and last year with Andrea Dovizioso. Along with Stoner and Dovizioso’s wins, Ducati have had four more podium finishes at this circuit with Toni Elias, who was third in 2008, Valentino Rossi, second in 2012 and Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso, who were second and third in 2017.
Andrea Dovizioso
“After the incident in England I’m lucky to be able to take part in the San Marino GP without any physical problems, because my Silverstone crash was a really big one and the consequences could have been much worse. During the two days of testing I was still not 100% fit, but now I’m fine, I feel in shape and am really anxious to race at this circuit, which for me is special, close to my home and where I’m sure that the support of the fans will be fantastic. The aim is to repeat the results of the last two seasons when we got onto the podium and we were competitive all through the weekend”.
Andrea Dovizioso won at Misano last year (2018)
Three Italian riders finished in the top five at Misano in 2017, all riding a Ducati, which was the first time that three Italian riders on Italian bikes finished in the top five in the premier class since Imola 1972 when Giacomo Agostini, on an MV Agusta, won from team-mate Alberto Pagani, with Ducati rider Bruno Spaggiari completing the podium.
Suzuki has had two podium finishes in the MotoGP era at Misano circuit, both of which came in 2007 when Chris Vermeulen finished second and John Hopkins third. Since 2007, Rins’ fourth-place finish last year was the best result for a Suzuki rider at Misano.
2007 Misano MotoGP – Casey Stoner P1, Chris Vermeulen P2, John Hopkins P3 – Image by AJRN
The best result for an Aprilia rider in MotoGP at Misano is a 10th-place finish with Alvaro Bautista back in 2016.
In 2017, Bradley Smith crossed the line in 10th place at Misano ahead of his team-mate Pol Espargaro, which is the best result for KTM at this track in the premier class.
The most successful rider at Misano since Grand Prix racing returned to the circuit in 2007 is Marc Marquez with five wins: 1 x 125cc, 2 x Moto2, 2 x MotoGP. Jorge Lorenzo is his closest rival with four: 1 x 250cc, 3 x MotoGP.
Jorge Lorenzo
“Each day I am feeling stronger and able to train harder than the previous day and the time between races has helped. I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and seeing how I feel physically on the RC213V. Despite not completing the full test, we were able to find some good information to be able to start the weekend well. In the past Misano has been a good circuit for me so I am hopeful that this weekend we can continue to close the gap.”
Jorge Lorenzo
Since 2007, only three riders have won the MotoGP race after qualifying on pole position: Casey Stoner (2007), Valentino Rossi (2009) and Dani Pedrosa (2010).
2007 Misano MotoGP – Image by AJRN
The nine Moto2 races that have taken place at Misano have been won by eight different riders: Toni Elias (2010), Marc Marquez (2011 and 2012), Pol Espargaro (2013), Tito Rabat (2014), Johann Zarco (2015), Lorenzo Baldassarri (2016), Tom Lüthi (2017) and Francesco Bagnaia (2018).
The seven Moto3 races that have taken place at Misano have been won by six different riders: Sandro Cortese (2012), Alex Rins (2011 and 2012), Enea Bastianini (2015), Brad Binder (2016), Romano Fenati (2017) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (2018).
Alex Rins took victory in the Moto3 race at the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini in 2014, with Alex Marquez and Jack Miller joining him on the podium.
The local area has produced some great riders. The late Marco Simoncelli was from the nearby town of Cattolica, and Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Melandri all grew up in the region as well. Part of the Apennine mountain range, San Marino’s highest point is Monte Titano, 749m (2,457 ft) above sea level, providing great views of the beautiful surrounding area for the 30,000 inhabitants of this tiny country.
But the Red Bull Ring presents a unique challenge. First of all, it’s the fastest track on the calendar in terms of average speed: the lap record stands in at 1m 23.827s, over 4.3 kilometres an average speed of 183.2kph, some four faster than Phillip Island, the next quickest layout. Riders are believed to be using full throttle for 39% of the lap, ten more than the second most ‘gas-happy’ circuit.
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