From Silverstone to Misano: it is hard to think of a starker contrast in circuits. Silverstone sits atop a windswept hilltop in the center of England, surrounded by verdant valleys and ancient villages. Misano nestles just above the vast string of late 20th Century hotel blocks, which form Italy’s Adriatic Riviera.
Silverstone is often wet, and usually cold, no matter what time of year we go there. Misano swelters in the heat of a late Italian summer.
The tracks are very different too. Silverstone is a vast, sweeping expanse of fast and challenging tarmac. Misano is a tightly compressed complex of loops demanding more of fuel management, than of the rider.
Silverstone has old, worn, slippery tarmac with huge bumps rippled in by F1 and other car racing. Up until 2015, Misano was much the same. But it was resurfaced last year, and has fresh, dark, smooth asphalt that has a lot more grip than the old surface.
So the MotoGP riders face a very different kettle of fish a week after Silverstone. The layout of the track is likely to have the biggest impact.
Where Silverstone is full of fast third and fourth gear corners which riders enter carrying a lot of speed, most of the turns at Misano are all first and second gear. Drive and traction are the watchwords, though there are three or four corners where braking is at a premium as well.
“It’s like drinking from a firehose” is the phrase I would use over and over while telling people about my recent trip to this year’s World Ducati Week.
The three-day event attracted 81,000 rabid Ducati fans through the gates of the Misano race track, which is just a stone’s throw from Italy’s Adriatic Coast. One of the best race tracks in the world, along one of Italy’s best beaches…the recipe for success here might seem obvious.
Beyond these factors though, World Ducati Week itself is a magnet event that attracts Ducatisti from the world over by offering them the ultimate Ducati experience.
Strangely enough though, you don’t even have to be a Ducati fan to attend – though it helps – as WDW2016 is something that any motorcyclist can enjoy.
For my part in this, I will admit to having more than one Ducati in my garage (none on press loan, mind you), so consider my glass of Kool-aid aptly filled, but truthful Ducati has put together a motorcycle enthusiast agenda that other brands and venues should take note of .
As such, World Ducati Week is a great example of how to get motorcyclists excited about being…well, motorcyclists.
Ducati does this by having no shortage of events and spectacles for fans to enjoy, and while the venue is a race track, most of what makes World Ducati Week special doesn’t take place on the Misano Circuit itself.
Instead, the key to World Ducati Week’s success is the carnival atmosphere, that immerses attendees in the very best that the Ducati brand has to offer.
The FIM have released another provisional calendar for the MotoGP series, in response to yet another shake up of the F1 calendar by Bernie Ecclestone.
With F1 and MotoGP having an informal agreement not to have their dates clash, and with MotoGP losing out in terms of TV audience whenever they do, the MotoGP calendar released in September had too many conflicts with F1. As a result of those clashes, four races have now been moved to different dates.
The German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring has been shifted back a week to July 17th. Silverstone, scheduled to be held on the 17th, has been moved to the September 4th. The Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang has been moved from the start to the end of the Asia-Pacific triple header, and will now be run on October 20th. That shift means that the Valencia race has been pushed back a week, to November 13th.
Alex De Angelis is home at last. After spending nearly two weeks in a hospital in Japan, recovering from serious injuries suffered in a big smash at Motegi, the Iodaracing rider was flown home on Sunday, where he received further treatment in the State Hospital of San Marino.
With the doctors happy that he was well enough to go home, De Angelis was discharged from hospital yesterday.
Given the severity of his injuries – fractured vertebrae, broken ribs, and a badly bruised lung – De Angelis faces a long rehabilitation process. He will have to wear a back brace for 45 days, undergo continuous medical checks and start physical rehabiliation to recover his fitness.
The doctors have ruled out a return to racing in the short term, but say that it may be possible for De Angelis to be fit for MotoGP testing in Sepang, at the start of February 2016.
With the flyaways fast approaching, MotoGP’s silly season for 2016 is reaching its climax. All of the factory seats are taken – including the seat at Aprilia vacated by Marco Melandri – and the top satellite rides are filled as well, either officially or unofficially.
A few pieces of the puzzle remain, but fitting those together is more or less complex, depending on the team and the rider involved. Here’s a look at where we stand so far.
A race that people will certainly be talking about weeks from now, the boys are back on the mics for the San Marino GP – dissecting the various weather strategies and their impact on the 2015 championship.
You won’t want to miss this half-hour discussion by David Emmett (MotoMatters), Neil Morrison (Crash.net & RoadRacing World), and Tony Goldsmith (A&R and BikeSportNews).
On a technical note, we’ve got some proper microphones for the lads on this show. Hopefully you’ll notice an improvement in our show quality. We’re really close to having a dedicated site ready, along with an RSS feed, iTunes updates, etc. So, thanks for bearing with us on that front.
Racers are gamblers. That their helmet designs featuring dice, cards, and other gambling paraphernalia bear witness to that. They have to be gamblers, a willingness to take risks is a prerequisite to being fast on a motorcycle, running the odds through your mind and betting the house on your own ability to get the upper hand.
Sometimes the gamble pays off, and when it does, the rewards are bountiful. Other times, however, you lose, leaving you a hard, hard row to hoe. There are gambles to be taken at every MotoGP race, but Misano turned into the biggest casino the series has ever seen.
Rain that came after the start then stopped again meant gambling on the right time to come in for tires – twice, once to go from slicks to wets, once to go from wets to slicks – left some riders reaping rich rewards, while others were left with empty hands.
Come in too late for wets, and you could lose 10 seconds wobbling round on a wet track on slicks. Come in too late for slicks, and you could lose 10 seconds or more a lap trying to find grip on wet tires as they were tearing themselves apart.
Marc Marquez wheelies past his crew after winning the Grand Prix of San Marino.
A fantastic ride by Bradley Smith. When everyone else changed to their wet setup bike he stayed out on slicks. The gamble paid off as he finished 2nd.
Scott Redding picked himself up off the floor to claim 3rd place and his debut MotoGP podium.
Remember Brno? A scintillating qualifying left Jorge Lorenzo on pole, with Marc Márquez beside him and Valentino Rossi filling out the front row. Race pace for the three was very similar, and the fans were left with the mouthwatering prospect of a thrilling race on Sunday. They were disappointed.
Jorge Lorenzo surged to the lead off the line, shook off Marc Márquez, disappeared into the distance, and won comfortably. The battle royal promised by free practice never materialized, and we were all left with a hollow feeling of disappointment, no matter how brilliant Lorenzo’s victory was.
Hence my reluctance to play up the prospect of a good race at Misano. The ingredients are the same. The same three riders on the front row, in the same order.