MotoGP: 2019 San Marino Grand Prix Preview – Will the Partisan Crowd Get What They Came For?

Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli (renamed a few years back after the late Marco Simoncelli) plays host to the Round 13 of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship.

Opened in 1972 and ran its first Grand Prix in 1980 and at varies stages until 1993. At that stage the circuit ran in the anti-clockwise direction up until 2006. The track was renovated ahead of MotoGP’s return in 2007 to run clockwise. Misano has remained mostly unchanged apart from an alteration to Turn 3 the following year.

Situated in the Province of Rimini near the Adriatico Coast. The Misano Circuit is the true home circuit of Italian legend Valentino Rossi. His home town of Tavullia is 14.2km (8.8 miles) from the circuit, that’s a 21 minute drive. Therefore the yellow army of Rossi fans invade the circuit from Tavullia and provide an atmosphere that rival that of the Tifosi at Monza during a Formula 1 weekend.

Hero Heads Home

So what are the chances of Rossi victory this weekend? Well, very high. When he’s not racing a MotoGP bike close to 200mph or on dirt bikes around his ranch. He’s spending time at the Misano circuit blasting around on his Yamaha R1. Rossi says he does this as training, to stay sharp on a bike and to keep fit.

Other benefits of this are that he has an unrestricted knowledge of the circuit. If there has been any chances to the track surface; new bumps, where grip levels may vary and how much lean angle he take into the corners. Not to mention this was the first circuit he rode on when he just 13 years of age, albeit in the opposite direction. If there is a circuit that The Doctor knows better than the back of his hand, Misano is that circuit.

“This weekend we expect a lot of people, a lot of fans and a lot of yellow cap, so we’ll try to give the maximum to be strong and competitive!” – Rossi

The Yamaha has taken steps forward in recent races and after his mid-season blip, Rossi has began to regain his form with two 4th place finishes in the last two races. This is a weekend where he will be receiving more support than anywhere – “This weekend we expect a lot of people, a lot of fans and a lot of yellow cap, so we’ll try to give the maximum to be strong and competitive!” He told Crash.net at a parade in his hometown riding his M1 Yamaha.

Best Chance of Victory?

Rossi has 3 wins at Misano, his most recent coming in 2014. It is the most race wins by anyone at the Misano circuit, a record he holds with his former team mate – Jorge Lorenzo. His track record is strong around the Adriatico circuit and the nature of the Yamaha means it is well suited to the many corners of Misano. As shown by the fact it is the most successful manufacturer in the MotoGP era, with 6 wins.

He will go into this weekend feeling confident that this could be his best chance to end his win drought which stretches 41 races back to Assen in 2017. He finished 4th in a test that was conducted after Silverstone where he trialed some new parts, which could be used this weekend.

Who Could Spoil The Party?

The great thing about MotoGP is on many occasions it’s difficult to predict who is going to win at the weekend and at Misano, it’s again very tough in knowing who will win.

Marc Marquez is the obvious choice to pick up his 7th win of the season, however he has lost out on two last lap, last corner battles in the last two races. This won’t faze the 26 year old Spaniard, who is well on his way to securing an 8th World Title. He has a strong record around the circuit, picking up 2 wins (2015 & 2017) but has scored 5 wins across all classes (125cc, Moto2 & MotoGP) which on the current grid is more than any other rider.

“We have our own plan and we will work towards it and see what happens on Sunday.” – Marquez

A strength of Marquez in 2019 has been his ability to run with one set of tyres during Free Practice sessions, this gives him good preparation for the race. “We have our own plan and we will work towards it and see what happens on Sunday.” This allows Marquez to assess the tyres in the latter stages of the race better than anyone else.

With seven races remaining, Marquez comes into this weekend with a clear 78 point advantage, that 3 race wins and 3 points ahead. He has finished inside the top 2 in every race of 2019, when he has finished the race. This puts him in the prime spot to be the man to beat.

Dovi and Ducati Looking to Bounce Back

After his defeat of Marquez at Austria in the final turn, Dovizioso’s race lasted only a few meters at Silverstone. He was taken out by Quartararo’s bike after the young Frenchman high sided himself over the handlebars coming out of Turn 1.

Ducati have won twice previously at Misano, the first coming in 2007 with Casey Stoner and Dovizioso taking the win ahead of Marquez after Lorenzo crashed out of 2nd with two laps remaining.

Another Chance for Rins

Alex Rins beat Marc Marquez in an epic scrap last time out at Silverstone. Picking up his 2nd career MotoGP victory in the process. The Suzuki is renowned for it’s handling and place like Misano could work perfectly for the nature of the machine. The bike turns very well and is easy on its tyres, which makes it very strong in the later stages of the race. See Silverstone and the run onto the home straight Rins got on Marquez, coming out the final turn.

“Misano could be a good circuit for us, last year we put in a positive performance, with Alex capable of keeping a very fast race pace and finishing in a strong 4th place.” – Davide Brivio

Suzuki have only scored one win at Misano, coming with Franco Uncini back in 1982. This is a stat that Team Boss Davide Brivio is confident the team can rewrite – “Misano could be a good circuit for us, last year we put in a positive performance, with Alex capable of keeping a very fast race pace and finishing in a strong 4th place.” Alex Rins has been on great form before his victory at Silverstone, arguabaly been the most consistent challenger to Marc Marquez on the run up to the summer break. So a challenge for victory isn’t out of the question.

Yamaha’s Best Hope?

Three podiums from the last 5 races, including a win. Maverick Vinales has transformed his season after a difficult start when Rossi was outperforming the young Spaniard. At Silverstone, he caught and passed Rossi before charging after Rins and Marquez in the latter stages of the race. He ruined his tyres trying to catch the top 2 but took a well earned 3rd place. over 10 seconds ahead of his team mate.

It then asks the question, is Vinales Yamaha’s best hope for victory at the weekend? Under current form, the simple answer is yes. He has shown since Mugello that he is fast enough and intelligent enough to challenge Marquez when the bike is working for him. His only issue – which he is slowly getting on top of – is his starts but the issue remains, he loses too much time and places on the opening lap.

Then comes Fabio Quartararo, the 20 year old Frenchman has taken 3 pole positions in his rookie campaign and has looked at time to be the better and fastest Yamaha rider. He finished 3rd at Austria, a track that isn’t suited to Yamaha but he scored a podium and finished ahead of the Factory Yamaha riders.

If it wasn’t for is error in Silverstone, he would surely have been in contention for the win. Misano might not only be the best opportunity for Rossi to win but also for Quartararo to claim his maiden MotoGP win.

What Else To Look Out For

“Each day I am feeling stronger and able to train harder than the previous day and the time between races has helped. I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and seeing how I feel physically on the RC213V.” – Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo returned at Silverstone last time out and despite being far off the pace in Qualifying and Practice. picked up some valuable and well deserved points. There has been 3 weeks since the last round which would have given him the chance to continue his recovery. “Each day I am feeling stronger and able to train harder than the previous day and the time between races has helped. I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and seeing how I feel physically on the RC213V.”

Misano is a track where he has won on 3 previous occasions and he will be looking to score his first top 10 finish since his win at Austria last season, 13 months ago. If he can achieve this, it will be a step in the right direction.

Moto2

Alex Marquez crashed from the lead last time out and will be looking to rectify that error with a strong weekend. He still holds a comfortable championship lead, 35 points ahead of – Agusto Fernandez, Thomas Luthi and Jorge Navarro, they’re all tied on 146 points – although he won’t want to make anymore mistakes with only 7 rounds remaining.

Thomas Luthi and Lorenzo Baldassarri are the only 2 riders on the grid to have won at Misano previously. Luthi picking up the victory in 2017 and Baldassarri in 2016.

Moto3

Marco Ramirez’s 2nd win of the season last time out makes him only the 3rd rider in 2019 to score more than one race win. The other two being Tony Arbolino and Aron Canet.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta leads the championship by 13 points over Canet and returns to the place where he took his first race win in Moto3, 12 months previously. The only other rider on the grid to have won in the class is Romano Fenati. Doing so in 2017.

We live in a golden age of MotoGP, where it is difficult to know what will happen from one week to the next. When we believe we think we know who is going to win, it can all be unfolded by an underdog claiming the victory on the last corner. There is only one predictable aspect in this unpredictable world we call MotoGP and that is that come Sunday, the grandstands will be a sea of yellow.