With the Indianapolis heat only just behind them, the FIAT Yamaha squad heads to San Marino this weekend for the Misano Grand Prix for Round 12 of the championship. And after his third place finish in the USA, Jorge Lorenzo heads to Misano with a 68 point lead in the championship, and the Spaniard hopes to increase that lead at another of the teams “home” races.
After finishing the last two races at Misano in second, odds are that Lorenzo will place well again this year and continue with his impressive run of form. Speaking in a press release, Lorenzo said, “We are going straight to Misano and I want to continue in the same way and get on the podium again. I’ve been second there for the last two years and I am feeling very motivated and looking forward to another good race. I hope the temperature is a bit cooler than in Indy because it was really too hot there. Last Sunday was my worst result this year, but I am still happy because it was still third and because it was very important for our goal, which is the Championship.”
For Lorenzo’s team mate, Valentino Rossi, Misano could be classed has his own personal home race, as the track is only 13km away from his home town. And the race is sure to bring out the Rossi tifosi in their thousands to will him on to take his first win since the opening race of the year.
Indianapolis was tough for for the nine times world champion, who is still suffering the effects of his broken leg suffered earlier in the season, but he has won in Misano for the previous two years and this will surely give him the confidence to get a good result on Sunday.
Speaking in a press release, Rossi said, “In Indianapolis we made some progress with our race setting but conditions made me realise that I’m still not 100% fit. 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!”
