The Ducati Marlboro Team return home this weekend looking to put on a good show for the local crowd at Misano and make up for a disappointing race last year, which Casey Stoner missed through illness whilst Nicky Hayden was taken out by another rider in the first turn.
Both riders have shown their pace around the Italian circuit previously, however, Stoner having won in 2007 and leading the 2008 race before crashing, and Hayden finding a good set-up and pace for his Ducati in practice last year.
As always the Ducatisti will be out in force to support them from the Ducati grandstand, which is located in the “Variante Parco”, the first turn after the start-finish straight.
CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team
“Indy was obviously a big disappointment for us but we’re looking ahead. I am happy to be going to one of Ducati’s home circuits and a place where we have gone fast in the past. It is the third of the races I missed in 2009 so we’ll see what we can do this weekend. We’ll have to work hard on the front again because we don’t want to take a backward step on the progress we’ve made recently. The whole team is working really hard, the guys are giving everything like always so hopefully we can have a good result to celebrate on Sunday.”
NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team
“We have travelled straight from Indianapolis to Italy so it feels like a short week! We had a really good pace in race trim during practice and warm-up at Misano last year but I got hit from behind in the race on the Sunday. It is always special to race a Ducati in Italy and I can’t wait for it. Last year went like I said and in 2008 I didn’t race because of a foot injury so we’ll try to make up for it on Sunday, when I’m sure we’ll have the support of a lot of fans and a lot of people from Ducati.”
VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
“The race definitely didn’t go to plan at Indianapolis but both Casey and Nicky had the pace to be on the podium. Now we head to Misano, a place where both riders have proved in the past that they can be on the pace so we hope that’s the case again this weekend. As always the team is doing an incredible job to put them in the best possible shape.”
THE TRACK
The Misano Adriatico circuit was built at the start of the seventies and has since undergone a series of modifications that have altered both the length, which has been extended from 3.488km to 4.226km, and the layout as well as updates to the pit facilities and paddock. The current layout, which was switched from anti-clockwise to clockwise in 2007 when MotoGP returned after a 16-year absence, looks straightforward but is far from it. It is actually a technical, slow circuit with tight corners other than the famously fast “Curvone” right-hander.
MISANO CIRCUIT RECORDS
Circuir Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2009), 1’34.746 – 160.572 Km/h
Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’33.378 – 162.924 km/h
Circuit Length: 4,226 km
MotoGP Race 2010: 28 giri (118.328 km)
MotoGP Schedule 2010: 14:00 Local Time
Number of laps: 28
Race distance: 118.328km
PODIUM 2009 : 1st Valentino Rossi, 2nd Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd Dani Pedrosa
POLE 2009: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2009), 1’34.338 – 161.266 km/h
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT MISANO
2009: DNF
2008: 9th (Melandri)
2007: 1st (Stoner)
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM – RIDER INFO
CASEY STONER
Age: 24 (born 16th October 1985 in Southport, Queensland, Australia )
Residency: Switzerland
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP10
Number: 27
GP Appearances: 137 (76xMotoGP, 31×250, 30×125)
GP victories: 27 (20xMotoGP, 5×250, 2×125)
First GP win: Valencia, 2003 (125)
GP debut: Great Britain, 2001 (125)
Pole positions: 22 (18xMotoGP, 2×250, 2×125)
First pole position: Italy, 2003 (125)
World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2007)
Stoner’s MotoGP track record at Misano:
2009: Qualified: – Race: – DNS
2008: Qualified: 1st. Race: DNF
2007: Qualified: 1st. Race: 1st
NICKY HAYDEN
Age: 29 (born 30th July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA)
Residency: Owensboro, USA
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP10
Number: 69
GP Appearances: 127 (127xMotoGP)
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP wins: 3 (3xMotoGP)
First GP win: USA, 2005 (MotoGP)
Pole positions: 5 (5xMotoGP)
First pole: USA, 2005 (MotoGP)
World titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006)
Hayden’s MotoGP track record at Misano:
2009: Qualificed: 6th. Race: DNF
2008. Qualifica: 16th. Race: DNS
