Round 13: 2016 San Marino Grand Prix - Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli

We return to Italy for Round 13 of the FIM MotoGP World Championship at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, which sees Marco Simoncelli's #58 retired from use. Weather conditions look to be dry and sunny for the entire race weekend.

Let's take a moment to remember Super Sic, who I believe had the requisite talent to become world champion, and likely would have had fate not had other ideas.



Last year's thriller saw a 2 part race in the wet and then on a drying track where Marc Marquez was gifted a victory by battling teammates Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. Neither man willing to be the first one into the pits, ultimately cost both men a chance at victory with Lorenzo crashing out, and Rossi unable to gain ground on Marc Marquez.

The big question this weekend will be the tires as they always are. Ducati tested here in late June with Casey Stoner rumored to have come close to the all-time motorcycle track record held by Jorge Lorenzo. Much like Austria, the Ducati's will have to be favored with the testing they did here with Stoner. Unknown this weekend will be how the Repsol Honda of Marc Marquez handles the higher track temperatures. Tire selection will most likely revolve around a Hard front and Hard rear. Barring that, whatever Valentino Rossi selects will probably be the correct choice.

In spite of Maverick Vinales coming off of his first career victory, the higher temperatures will put the GSX-RR at a disadvantage once again. We may see a resurgent Jorge Lorenzo if temperatures are high enough to get heat into his front tire. A potential dark horse is Dani Pedrosa who has started to look marginally better the past couple of races, and we're almost getting to the point of the season where Dani will have a chance to shine on some of his favorite circuits.

The championship battle sees Marc Marquez leading Valentino Rossi 210 to 160. While a large gap, it is not a gap that one can call comfortable just yet due to this being one of six remaining championship rounds and fortunes can change instantly.

We await Budoist to give us his traditional write-up hopefully soon, so this should get the ball rolling.

Cal Crutchlow used a prototype frame at Silverstone that sacrifices a bit of braking stability for better drive out of corners, it was previously tested and rejected by the Repsol pair as it didn't make enough difference to them. Cal however thought it was amazing and suited his style perfectly.
Given the hard braking nature of this track, it's likely the Repsol team will stick with their frames, but if either decides to change, could it make a difference, good or bad?
Hopefully this meeting will see a resurgence in the form of all the Yamaha riders, it's been strange not seeing the Tech3 bikes near the front.
Alex Lowes races Brad's bike again and will likely get a full dry 3 days to show what he can do. He was held back at silverstone by a very conservative setup designed for newbies according to Guy Coulon. He thinks Alex can go much faster this weekend and Alex himself is confident as he raced WSBK here recently and the track is inside his head. I just hope Alex doesn't get over confident and throw the bike down the road, a nice top 10 would be amazing to put him in the shop window.
Overall a good close but clean race would be good IMO with no drama or troublemaking or stirring in the press or press conferences. I'd also like the Italian fans to show some class and can the booing and abuse, but I'm not holding my breath...

yamfan said:

Cal Crutchlow used a prototype frame at Silverstone that sacrifices a bit of braking stability for better drive out of corners, it was previously tested and rejected by the Repsol pair as it didn't make enough difference to them. Cal however thought it was amazing and suited his style perfectly.
Given the hard braking nature of this track, it's likely the Repsol team will stick with their frames, but if either decides to change, could it make a difference, good or bad?
Hopefully this meeting will see a resurgence in the form of all the Yamaha riders, it's been strange not seeing the Tech3 bikes near the front.
Alex Lowes races Brad's bike again and will likely get a full dry 3 days to show what he can do. He was held back at silverstone by a very conservative setup designed for newbies according to Guy Coulon. He thinks Alex can go much faster this weekend and Alex himself is confident as he raced WSBK here recently and the track is inside his head. I just hope Alex doesn't get over confident and throw the bike down the road, a nice top 10 would be amazing to put him in the shop window.
Overall a good close but clean race would be good IMO with no drama or troublemaking or stirring in the press or press conferences. I'd also like the Italian fans to show some class and can the booing and abuse, but I'm not holding my breath...

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I'd like to see Alex do well this week. I was very pleased with his debut race at Silverstone, and I'm hoping that a good performance at Misano may open doors for him in GP perhaps. I'm sure we'll be treated to a similar crowd as the one we saw at Mugello unfortunately.

JPSLotus said:

I'd like to see Alex do well this week. I was very pleased with his debut race at Silverstone, and I'm hoping that a good performance at Misano may open doors for him in GP perhaps. I'm sure we'll be treated to a similar crowd as the one we saw at Mugello unfortunately.

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Alex, like most racers is very self critical. He was upset with himself as he felt he rode badly, not even sitting on the bike properly. Guy Coulon however was very pleased with him in his debut and said with hindsight he probably could've handled a much more competitive bike setting, but he put the newby setting in as it was his debut and he'd had no real dry practice time.
Alex is a very capable rider, but I hope he rides smart this weekend and doesn't lose his head and swing for the fence. He could end up throwing the bike down if he does the the latter.
I agree re the fans, though wouldn't it be comical if Rossi tried to be God and makes a statement beseeching them to be respectful?
He has the perfect opportunity to try and repair his image somewhat, especially as super sic is being honoured this weekend.

Michelin continue to fine tune the RMS (Rossi Michelin Specials).

New front tire, a bit harder to Misano? Who might that favor? Rossi may not be leading the championship, but it's not from lack of Dornmichelin trying.



If you live in a glass house, don't throw rocks.

Will probably help Marquez though

p4p1 said:

Will probably help Marquez though

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Unintended consequences. But it's working. Marc has been limited to 3 wins 2/3 of the season in. Had Rossi not been upset over his perceived title robbery causing him mistakes (by his admission) he probably would be leading the championship right now thanks to Michelin. They eliminated Lorenzo quite well, they probably didn’t forsee Marquez riding conservatively, no one did. There is no doubt Michelin are hard at work trying to achieve that ultimately marketing moment-- Rossi wins the championship on MICHELINS, marketing heaven into eternity.

If you live in a glass house, don't throw rocks.

Jumkie said:

Unintended consequences. But it's working. Marc has been limited to 3 wins 2/3 of the season in. Had Rossi not been upset over his perceived title robbery causing him mistakes (by his admission) he probably would be leading the championship right now thanks to Michelin. They eliminated Lorenzo quite well, they probably didn’t forsee Marquez riding conservatively, no one did. There is no doubt Michelin are hard at work trying to achieve that ultimately marketing moment-- Rossi wins the championship on MICHELINS, marketing heaven into eternity.

If you live in a glass house, don't throw rocks.

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I think that's owing a lot to the problems with the Honda as well. I do believe on Rossis preferred tyres Marquez will still be faster than him. Rossi just simply isn't and never was as good as Marquez.

p4p1 said:

I think that's owing a lot to the problems with the Honda as well. I do believe on Rossis preferred tyres Marquez will still be faster than him. Rossi just simply isn't and never was as good as Marquez.

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I don't buy the RCV is the 'main' problem, but rather the tires first, then and a distance then, are the unmitigated issues with the Honda.

The RCV was reportedly a piece of .... last year, hell poor Marquez was even described as riding with one arm tied behind his back, the Honda was supposedly so bad. Yet Marquez managed more wins, and was in contention to win when he crashed out. The RCV is NOT worse than last year's. The assessment mistake I've read repeatedly is that because the RCV appears lose under Marc its a dog. Yet the RCV looks more planted with Pedrosa. Why would that be? Style perhaps? Pedrosa is nowhere this year, and that's a function of TIRES not his bike. Yes, I've read excellent cases made for the RCV's woes, and though they surely contribute to the Honda's issues, it's the MICHELIN TIRES (with a peculiar development direction) that have presented the greatest challenge.


If you live in a glass house, don't throw rocks.

The lottery tyre is spinning as I type.

This weeks best tyre goes tooooooo..........

Jumkie said:

I don't buy the RCV is the 'main' problem, but rather the tires first, then and a distance then, are the unmitigated issues with the Honda.

The RCV was reportedly a piece of .... last year, hell poor Marquez was even described as riding with one arm tied behind his back, the Honda was supposedly so bad. Yet Marquez managed more wins, and was in contention to win when he crashed out. The RCV is NOT worse than last year's. The assessment mistake I've read repeatedly is that because the RCV appears lose under Marc its a dog. Yet the RCV looks more planted with Pedrosa. Why would that be? Style perhaps? Pedrosa is nowhere this year, and that's a function of TIRES not his bike. Yes, I've read excellent cases made for the RCV's woes, and though they surely contribute to the Honda's issues, it's the MICHELIN TIRES (with a peculiar development direction) that have presented the greatest challenge.


If you live in a glass house, don't throw rocks.

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Perhaps in the last race Pedro's RCV looked more planted than it has been for but that certainly hasn't been the case for most of this season. The forward - aft weight transfer and balance, (the latter often being imperceptible to the observer) is a nightmare and Dani simply can't hook up the rear of get it stopped. Ordinarily Marc likes a shorter bike than Dani, which obviously tends to exaggerate his inputs, but right now I'm not convinced that's currently the case - particularly since Pedrosa is struggling more to hook up the rear - so perhaps as you acknowledge, his looser style creates that impression.

As I said in a previous post, I think that to solely attribute the woes of the RCV to the tyres is a false premise compa. I agree that the bike is 'not worse than last year's, but the electronics are. Given the savage nature of the engine and the former sophistication of last season's bespoke package in comparison to the unified software, the change has hit Honda hard. Suzuki are particularly conscious of the effect of this upon both Honda and Yamaha in particular which has allowed them to make significant inroads this year.

To avoid repetition, this is my take on it - (which may be what you were referring to), although my observation that Ducati have not detected any significant difference/deterioration between the open software and this year's unified software was completely incorrect and redressed in a later post having coincidentally happened upon an interview with Gigi on the subject after the post was made.

http://motogpforum.com/motogp/21744-only-2-honda-riders-yet-win-race-2016-a-2.html#post421317

p4p1 said:

Will probably help Marquez though

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If the dummy goes back to picking the harder front. My guess is that he lost some feel in the RCV front setup and preferred the soft for security reasons. He has almost always done better running a hard front.

Arrabbiata1 said:

.......The forward - aft weight transfer and balance, (the latter often being imperceptible to the observer) is a nightmare and Dani simply can't hook up the rear of get it stopped. It may appear as you say more 'planted; because he is forced to run a longer bike than Márquez which is deceptive, plus, as you acknowledge, Marc's style is looser..........

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If in doubt, one could go back and watch Marquez lose a race because his rear tire spun-up unnecessarily and JLo motored on by. MM was the fastest rider in that race, but not on the best bike.

I am looking forward to a bit of yellowness, this weekend. This is really Rossi's home track and it is a hoot to go there. The fans are great and more level headed than one would expect. I am also looking forward to Binder watching again. He is a blast to watch.

I wont lie, had a bit of a laugh... (and no, not just because it's Marquez - he's actually starting to grow on me)

Practice Slo-Mo crash

He's falling down on his job. Usually he picks those right up. He probably was just going too slow and he didn't have enough inertia to help against gravity.

Based on Rossi in FP1, looks like this weekend has an asterisk already.

FP1 results....

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 33.451s [Lap 20/20] 289km/h (Top Speed)
2. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 33.587s +0.136s [20/21] 289km/h
3. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 33.713s +0.262s [16/18] 291km/h
4. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 33.729s +0.278s [18/20] 289km/h
5. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 33.774s +0.323s [16/19] 291km/h
6. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 33.786s +0.335s [13/20] 290km/h
7. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 1m 33.863s +0.412s [14/17] 293km/h
8. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 33.882s +0.431s [18/19] 290km/h
9. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 33.920s +0.469s [17/19] 288km/h
10. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 34.034s +0.583s [17/21] 287km/h
11. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 34.072s +0.621s [15/17] 287km/h
12. Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 34.126s +0.675s [19/20] 287km/h
13. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 34.143s +0.692s [15/17] 288km/h
14. Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 1m 34.234s +0.783s [17/19] 292km/h
15. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 34.412s +0.961s [13/14] 288km/h
16. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 34.496s +1.045s [19/21] 287km/h
17. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 1m 34.699s +1.248s [4/4] 294km/h
18. Alex Lowes GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 34.923s +1.472s [22/22] 287km/h
19. Yonny Hernandez COL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 34.925s +1.474s [18/18] 288km/h
20. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 35.280s +1.829s [6/15] 289km/h
21. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 1m 35.302s +1.851s [19/19] 285km/h
22. Javier Fores ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 37.090s +3.639s [14/18] 284km/h

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From Twitter..

Crash.net MotoGP
‏@crash_motogp
Ducati say Iannone will undergo CT scan for suspected micro fracture of D2/3 vertebrae. In a lot of pain. #SanMarinoGP #MotoGP

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Iannone out according to BT Sport, fracture confirmed.

He'll have two weeks till Aragon to heal up somewhat, but I'm thinking with a vertebrae fracture he will probably miss the next race unless he heals up quickly.

Lorenzo set a time in FP2 that was better than his fastest lap in last year's grand prix.