So the fightback for Casey Stoner has to start here. Can he beat Rossi this weekend? I think Ducati definitely have the fastest bike at the moment but I feel Yamaha have been closing the gap recently. Also this is effectively a home GP for Rossi (despite the San Marino GP tag) so he will be inspired in front of his home crowd and this will act as a real leveler between the battling pair. However Rossi has never won a race at Misano strangely enough, and he will want to put that record straight in this weekend’s race (although Misano only came back onto the calendar last season after a 14 year absence). Talking of records, if Rossi wins this weekend, he will equal Giacomo Agostini’s record 68 victories in the premier class. Many recognize Agostina, as the greatest Moto GP rider of all time so to equal his record would be a big achievement.
I wouldn’t like to predict which way this one is going to go. I think Stoner definitely has the edge over Rossi in qualifying. Stoner has qualified on pole for the last 6 races so he is on a role at the moment whereas recently, qualifying hasn’t been Rossi’s strong point. I think this race will follow a similar pattern to Brno with Rossi trying to keep up with Stoner in the early stages of the race and try something later on in the race (he didn’t have to in the end). Hopefully we will see another classic battle between them as we did in Laguna Seca. My money has to be on Rossi though, mainly due to his home advantage and the hostile reception Stoner may get all weekend, which may agitate him. Saying nasty things about Rossi after a race (as Stoner did after Laguna Seca), when millions adore him, is never going to win over fans in Moto GP and I think Stoner will have learnt his lesson from Laguna Seca.
I can’t see anyone else bothering Rossi and Stoner at the front as both are just to quick for anyone at the moment and as mentioned earlier, Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Melandri all have their problems.
The midfield battle between Suzukis, the improved Kawasakis and the other Ducatis and Hondas in the last race was absolutely electric and one of the highlights of the race. This weekend I think the home crowd might inspire Capirossi to sneak a podium here.
The other main talking point of last weekend was the dismal performance of the Michelin tyres. For 2 race weekends running the Michelins has been next to hopeless in terms of performance. At the beginning of the season it looked as if they could take the fight to Bridgestone but they have got worse as the season has progressed.
Some of the cynics were hoping that Rossi’s controversial move to Bridgestones would put egg on his face. At the start of the season, that seemed possible as in qualifying particularly, Michelin were stronger. However, at the moment, it’s looking like Rossi may have made a very shrewd move.
The pressure will be really on Michelin in Misano to find a solution to their issues otherwise, we could get a situation where nobody will want their tyres next season and we could end up with Bridgestone being the sole tyre supplier. This one could rumble on till the end of the season. How will Michelin cope with the track surface in Indianapolis in the race after Misano? They showed they couldn’t cope with it in F1!
Back to Misano I think all the ingredients are there for a classic race and even though Moto GP isn’t my first love in motorsport I am eagerly anticipating this race.
My top three prediction
1. Rossi 2. Stoner 3. Capirossi
Enjoy the race!
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