Round 13 of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship cranks up on Italy's Adriatic Coast this weekend for the San Marino Grand Prix. It appears that five-time World Champion Valentino Rossi holds the key to a sixth title by virtue of a 50-point lead over his nearest competitor, defending champion Casey Stoner, as only six races are left on the docket. But as Stoner demonstrated in Brno, there are no certainties in racing. Stoner grabbed the holeshot and was leading the last race before losing the front of his Desmosedici GP8, and like that he was out of the contest.The Doctor will have plenty of fans cheering him on this weekend as his hometown of Tavullia is a mere 15km away from the track. Rossi has plenty of motivation heading into the race. He can make amends to his fans after a disappointing DNF in last year's debacle, he can solidify his perch atop the standings, and he can tie the great Giacomo Agostini's record for the most victories in the premier motorcycle roadracing class with 68.
"I'm really excited to be going to Misano in such good shape and leading the championship. Last year the race was a huge disappointment for us, a very low point of the season and especially sad because it happened in front of my home fans. But this time things are very different; we've had two fantastic races in a row and we are feeling very strong and very confident," Rossi said.
Marlboro Ducati's Stoner will also have plenty of support as thousands of Ducatisti will pack the grandstand in Turn One, the "Variante Parco", cheering for a repeat of last year's winning performance. Stoner scored the wire-to-wire victory in '07 and holds Misano's Lap and Pole records. He has been scorching the track recently and was poised to keep the pressure on Rossi as the MotoGP season heads down the home stretch, but the first DNF of his Ducati career in the last race couldn't have come at a worse time.
But at least Stoner's fortunes have been better than Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa. Only a month ago, the Spanish rider was in first place in the Championship standings after Assen. Then came his big spill in the next race at Sachsenring, which knocked him out of Laguna Seca as well. Throw in tire problems and a dismal 15th place finish at Brno and you have a disgruntled rider who went from being in contention for the title to trailing by 65 points. Pedrosa slammed Michelin after his embarassing finish in the Czech Republic. Sound familiar? Wasn't it about this time last season that Rossi was grumbling about his tire supplier as well? Will Repsol be the next team to fracture into two splinters with one rider competing on 'Stones while the other rolls on Michelins? We'll have to wait and see how far Dani's disgust goes.
"I am hoping that we can have a better weekend at Misano, though I had bad luck there last year, another rider knocked me off at the very first corner," Pedrosa said.
Maybe the fact that Repsol Honda will field two riders for the first time in three races will help Pedrosa regain his podium form. Nicky Hayden returns to competition in San Marino after hurting his heel during MotoGP's summer break while competing in Supermoto during the recent X Games. The young American missed the last race in the Czech Republic because of his injury. Hayden said that he had permission from HRC to compete in the extracurricular affair, but it still was not the wisest decision the former World Champion has made as it cost him valuable points and didn't help improve his team's standing in the Constructor's Points race.
One team that did improve its standings in the last race was the Rizla Suzuki squad. Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen both rode well, with Capi finishing a season-best third while Chris V. wasn't too far back in sixth. Vermeulen finished atop the podium in the two previous races at Laguna Seca and Sachsenring, so we'll see if the boys in Rizla blue can make it four in a row in Italy. Capirossi will also break the record for the most Grand Prix appearances when he takes to the track for Sunday's race and the native Italian should have plenty of vocal supporters in the stands.
The Kawasaki Racing Team heads to San Marino with high aspirations. Rider Anthony West had the best results of his career at Brno, a fifth-place finish. Teammate John Hopkins was set to make a triumphant return to the MotoGP paddock after missing a few races with multiple injuries, earning a front row start with the third-fastest qualifying time, but tire and rear traction problems relegated to him to an 11th place finish. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot sat out the two-day, post race test at Brno with a rib injury suffered in a practice crash, but is said to be back up to health and ready to race.
Stoner's misfortunes at Brno demonstrated the unpredictable nature of the sport. On any given Sunday, you never know who's going to grace the podium steps. At Brno, Alice Ducati's Toni Elias, a non-entity for the most part this season, snared second place. Capirossi captured his first podium while riding for his new Suzuki team. And San Carlo Gresini Honda's Shinya Nakano just missed out, finishing in fourth place, but improved greatly from his usual middle-of-the-pack standing.
Who is going to step up this weekend at Misano? Will Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo flash some of the brilliance he exhibited early in the season? Will JiR Team Scot's Andrea Dovisio break into the top three? Check back this weekend to find out the answers to these questions and more as the wheels of the MotoGP machine continue to churn.
Misano Record Lap:
C.Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 1'34.649
Misano Pole Record:
C.Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 1'33.918
Misano 2007Grand Prix Results:
1. C.Stoner (Ducati)44'34.720
2. C.Vermeulen (Suzuki) +4.851
3. J.Hopkins (Suzuki) +16.002
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