these boys thrive on confidence, and after Silvertsone his must be high. The way he dealt with Jorge and Dovi, and with nothing to lose, reckon he'll be mega up for it
Is petruci's bike actually capable in the dry though? We all know those older ones could be front runners in the wet.
Yep Hopper to break down on the third lap after riding the tits of the bike in free practice and qualifying. Doh wrong race sorry.
Bloody hell - these stats look pretty savage eh!? From: Lorenzo attempts to infiltrate Rossi territory in Misano A record crowd is expected at Misano on Sunday, but most will be clad in yellow & are only coming for one thing - a Rossi win. Jorge Lorenzo could not be operating further behind enemy lines if he tried this weekend, as he attempts to infiltrate what is undisputedly Valentino Rossi territory in Misano. Over the next three days he is not only going to have to contend with his Factory Yamaha teammate on track. But he will face a tidal wave of support against him, with Misano a true home race for Rossi, given you can practically throw a breezeblock from the 36-year-old’s back garden to the start line. A record crowd will pack the compact Misano track to create a cauldron atmosphere in favour of Rossi and in opposition to Lorenzo, who will be public enemy number one this weekend. Personally, I think Lorenzo thrives in this situation. And if there is a battleground that Lorenzo could choose to try and cut into Rossi’s 12-point World Championship lead then the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli would probably be it. Lorenzo has an impeccable record in Rossi’s back yard and in his eight previous appearances in Misano; he’s never finished outside of the top two. In fact, he’s well versed in gatecrashing the party in Rossi’s home races of late. Italian fans have had to swallow seeing him finish inside the top two in his last seven visits to Mugello too, including four wins in the last five years at Rossi’s spiritual home. Incredibly, of the last 350-points on offer in Italy, 315 have gone to Lorenzo! And seven of Lorenzo’s last nine races on Italian soil have ended in triumph. An eighth in ten on Sunday will go down like a cup of cold sick in this part of the world. It’s no surprise given Rossi’s stunning renaissance in 2015 that a record crowd is expected at Misano on Sunday. Most of them will be clad in yellow, and with that brings enormous expectation and pressure on Rossi. He’s old and wise enough to handle it and even embrace it as a motivational tool to succeed. But even Rossi himself has admitted that the pressure is being ramped up in the build up to this race. He would certainly love a second successive win at Misano to further extend his advantage over Lorenzo. But winning back-to-back races is not something Rossi has managed to achieve since he won Catalunya and Assen way back in 2009. Rossi has good pedigree himself at Misano and with overwhelming public support behind him, he will be aware that a win on Sunday could be pivotal in the chase for title. Like Lorenzo, he’s won three times here and it is also worth remembering that one of just three podium finishes during an instantly forgettable two-year spell at Ducati came at Misano in 2012. And we need to throw Marc Marquez and Ducati in the mix as well. Marquez will be going for broke even more than ever now his title hopes were extinguished with a fourth race crash of the season in Silverstone. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t win all the remaining six races and leave Rossi and Lorenzo feeding off the scraps. And what of Ducati? Surely Misano represents the best chance for Andrea Dovizioso or Andrea Iannone to end the Bologna factory’s long barren run without a win. Before a wheel was turned in anger in 2015, Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna said a key target was to win at least one race. Dovizioso and Iannone have tested on Misano’s new surface twice in the last six weeks, so they have a small head start already. If Rossi doesn’t win, then a Ducatisti success would be the next best thing for the passionate and partisan home crowd. But most are only coming for one thing. And that’s a Rossi win. When he won in Misano in 2008, he did so after shaking Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ on the grid. For his legions of fans, Rossi will just cement his god-like status if he can hand out a beating to Lorenzo and Marquez on Sunday afternoon.
Went to San Marino today unbeknown to me the Ducati boys put in an appearance. What a Sind down those narrow streets and they were only ticking over
Amazing mate! He musta been directly to the right of that woman in green with the white hair! ie JUST out of shot!
The woman in green with the white hair is my 84 year old mam the one on the other side is my 20 year old wife I am the fat bastard in the striped shirt
Lot harder from my side are you in the shot Toby? I would guess the guy in blue if not the guy in black to his left
Looking at each of the riders each have their advantages and disadvantages coming into this race, some more than others, so here's my round up preview before the action kicks off. Valentino Rossi Advantages Back on his home turf with the benefits of his massive fan base willing him a long Won here last year Is coming off the back of a good win at Silverstone, he will be desperate to build up momentum now and eek out a larger gap over Lorenzo The last two races Rossi has been on the second and front row, is the tide changing and he he banished his qualifying blues. Vale has been doing a fair bit of night time testing here on the new R1. Now I know the R1 is no moto gp bike, but any time on track is good especially when the track has been resurfaced. Apparently they are expecting record lap times as it has been reported that the tarmac is quite grippy, so any rider who has been out and got a feeling for the new surface may have a tiny bit of advantage Disadvantages Qualifying has got to be one of his biggest disadvantages at the moment for Rossi, if he cannot get onto the second row at least for the this race and the remaining races he may struggle to catch the blistering early pace of Lorenzo and Marquez, that is if they qualify on the front row, however it is highly probable they will. Rossi's dry pace. it has been said by all the three main guys that the dry pace of Lorenzo compared to Rossi's is better. I think the only way he will have a chance of competing with the pace of Marquez and even more so Lorenzo is it qualify well and then try to upset the rhythm of those guys Jorge Lorenzo Advantages Jorge has been the most successful rider at the Misano circuit since it returned to the calendar in 2007, taking one win in the 250cc GP Class in 2007 and the 3 successive wins in MotoGP from 2011 to 2013. So it wouldn't be wise betting against him finishing on the top step. Jorge's practice pace, qualifying pace and race pace is mesmerizing and blistering quick. It has been said by all three men taking the top 3 spots in the championship that the pace of Lorenzo compared to Rossi is a lot better in dry conditions. Jorge's mental strength this year seems to be pretty good. He doesn't seem phased by competing on Rossi's home turf, the small deficit to Rossi and he seems comfortable on the bike. Compare this to last year, Lorenzo was out of shape (I would love to be anywhere near Lorenzo's 'out of shape'!) didn't like the new heat resistant tyres, wanted to try the open Yamaha and hill this showed when he he was on the bike, shaking his head, hands, basically doing the hokey pokey off of the bike! This year we've seen none of that he just gets on the bike and smashes it, he's in a good place this year mentally and physically. Disadvantages The new track surface. Lorenzo has not tested on this new surface so his first real feeling for it will be today. I have no doubt he will get up to speed quickly but if this surface is pretty hard on tyres and the harder option needs to be used we could see Lorenzo struggle. Weather - The weather is looking like its going to be lovely all weekend and pretty consistent but if this changes and the conditions are slightly from the norm it can affect tyre choice, their characteristics and bike performance. You may see Vale do better if conditions aren't suited for Lorenzo Marc Marquez Advantages Marc has nothing to loose coming into these remaining races he's the rider that is just going to go for broke. He has a mathematical chance of clinging onto the coat tails of Rossi and Lorenzo in the championship if he takes a win, keeping his hope alive. Always super quick across the weekend Has tested here earlier in the summer so will be able to start with a good base setup getting him up to speed and to the top of the time sheets pretty quick. Disadvantages Misano is one of the tracks Marc has not triumphed at in the MotoGP Class. The floaty feeling has come back to his RCV not allowing him to get to the limit that allows him to risk more Likes to take big risks If we look at the manufacturers Yamaha has been the most successful with 6 victories since the Misano returned to the calendar in 2007. Ducati and Honda taking one a piece. So the case is strong for Yamaha and Lorenzo however no one can predict what can happen comes Sunday all we can hope is that its going to be a corker of a race. I hope Rossi does it but he has got his work cut out dealing with the Spanish duo.
