Following a successful test last week at the San Marino circuit where the Yamaha Sterilgarda riders recorded fast times and were the most competitive team pairing, both Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland are geared up and ready to take the fight to the competition this weekend.
The eighth round of the World Superbike Championship at the Misano circuit in San Marino will start with an impressive street display; James Toseland along with other WSB riders will pilot his full race-spec YZF-R1 through the historic streets of San Marino for the assembled international media and race fans on Thursday morning. The Misano round is the first race back in Europe following races in South Africa and the USA. The circuit, on Italy’s touristic Adriatic coast was overhauled in 2007, including a change of direction to run clock-wise, and a succession of right-handers at the end of the main straight. Having tested here twice this year both riders are familiar with the layout and have set ups prepared to be immediately competitive.
“I really enjoyed racing here last year even though it was a red flag race,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I know what it’s like to fight and win here on a Supersport bike so I’m looking forward to finding out what the battle is like on a Superbike! We’ve been working hard to get a really good set up for the track, so we have every reason to believe we’ll both be up there fighting at the front.”
“I had a pole here in 2006 in Superbike,”said James Toseland, “and although there were circuit changes in 2007 I’ve tested twice here this year so I know the circuit well. That combined with all the hard work my crew chief Frankie and the Yamaha Team have been doing to get the best possible set up for the track gives me confidence that we’re on for a good result. We’ve proved we can be very fast here even on used race tyres so I can’t wait to get on the bike and kick off the weekend.”
Misano technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief
“We’ve worked hard on tyre life in the recent tests, doing a couple of race runs in different temperatures. We will be using a different link system for the Misano race to preserve the tyre life, we’re going to start on Friday with the setting we finished with at the test and the other bike has a slightly different swing arm which we’ll be testing as it’s a little more rigid and stronger. It’s quite a twisty track so it’s important the bike changes direction well but also accelerates between the corners well without compromising the tyres. Pirelli are bringing a new batch of tyres to use so hopefully all the work we did in the test will prove valuable with the new rubber! Following our results in the test, expectations are high.”
Misano technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief
“Misano is a challenging circuit because it has more or less three different track surfaces. The grip level can change in a very short period. Also sand from the beach and salty clouds from the nights can change everything so it is always necessary to follow these conditions without losing the direction of the set up. The spring rates and bike balance all have to be in order for this but it is also necessary to keep the stability for the fast back section and the handling, so it’s a compromise for the first part. Cooling can also be an issue because it can be very hot with track temps up to 60� and higher; this affects brakes, engine setup and also again the grip level. We will start with two different bikes, the best from the test last week and probably the one from the test before. We will see how it works on Friday and see if we have made a step forward with the last test setup.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“After the good test we had last week we are heading to Misano feeling optimistic. I think that we can get a good result with both riders as they have both shown very competitive pace on the circuit. Misano is the second of the three Italian rounds this season so is an important one for our many Italian crew members and of course our Italian sponsors and suppliers.”
