After a one year absence, the eni FIM Superbike World Championship returns to the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, for the seventh round of the 2014 season. The Italian track made its debut on the WSBK calendar back in 1991, when American Doug Polen (Ducati) dominated the field claiming the pole position and taking the double, on his way to his first world title.
The track underwent a major modification at the end of 2006, when the racing direction changed from counter-clockwise to clockwise. The following year the circuit was renamed “Misano World Circuit”. The current 4,226m layout features six left corners and ten right handers.
Of all the riders involved in the championship, only Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) has won at Misano before in the Superbike class. The British rider edged out Michel Fabrizio in race two at the finish line to claim his maiden victory in the series in 2009.
Despite a difficult performance at Sepang a fortnight’s ago, Rea is still third in the standings and only 22 points shy of championship leader Sykes. Like 2nd place Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), who is just 13 points from the top, Rea took the most out of the reigning champion’s DNF in the first encounter to limit the damage and maintain a strong position in the title race.
On the other hand Guintoli did not manage to fully capitalise from Sykes’ unlucky crash in race one, as his teammate Marco Melandri twice edged him out to secure a crucial double win. The Italian rider finally made it to the top step of the podium as a factory Aprilia rider, narrowing the gap to the top from 88 to 54 points.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) has never been in the top 3 at Misano, despite being the pole-sitter in the last editions. The Englishman has recently undergone medical checks on his right wrist and leg, after the unlucky three way collision started by his teammate Loris Baz in the first encounter at Sepang, which brought down the reigning champ too. Sykes was fortunately diagnosed with no major damage and is ready to resume his title defence.
Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) had one of the best races of his WSBK career at Misano in 2012, as he led the first outing for five laps before being overtaken by race winner Biaggi and second place Checa, eventually finishing third.
Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) is looking forward to the second Italian round of the season, after returning to the podium for the first time since the season opener at Sepang. The last win by a Suzuki rider at Misano dates back to 2008, when Max Neukirchner beat Troy Corser by half a second at the finish line in race one. Laverty is no stranger to winning at Misano however, having won in WSS in 2010.
MV Agusta had a disappointing time in Sepang with Claudio Corti failing to finish either race. Corti will not be the only rider to race an MV Agusta F4 RR at Misano, as Swissman Michael Savary (Dream Team Company) will make a one-off appearance aboard the 4 cylinder Italian machine.
Team Hero EBR secured their best result of the season last time out, Aaron Yates narrowly missing the team’s first championship point with 16th in the opening Malaysian race.
BMW had a second rider in the points in Malaysia as Hungarian Imre Toth scored both his and Team Toth’s maiden WSBK points in their debut season.
The battle for the ultimate prize in the EVO class continues at Misano with many potential protagonists hoping to shine in front of the Italian crowd. The seventh event of the season sees the return of reigning STK1000 champion Sylvain Barrier after a long recovery following a road accident. Two wildcard riders will try to mix it up in the battle for honours in the category, as former WSBK full timer Matteo Baiocco (Grandi Corse by A.P. Racing) and current Italian Superbike leader Ivan Goi (Barni Racing) will take to the track astride their respective 1199 Panigale R machines.
Standings (Round 6 of 13): 1. Sykes 201; 2. Guintoli 188; 3. Rea 179; 4. Baz 170; 5. Melandri 147; 6. Davies 130; 7. Giugliano 96; 8. Laverty 90; 9. Elias 89; 10. Haslam 89; 11. Lowes 80; 12. Salom 56; 13. Canepa 39; 14. Camier 30; 15. Guarnoni 19; 16. Scassa 16; 17. Foret 14; 18. Corti 10; 19. Morais 10; 20. Andreozzi 8; 21. Allerton 6; 22. Bos 5; 23. Staring 3; 24. Toth 2; 25. Fabrizio 2; 26. Lanusse 1. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 216; 2. Aprilia 212; 3. Honda 179; 4. Ducati 158; 5. Suzuki 140; 6. BMW 36; 7. MV Agusta 10.
Round 7, Misano – eni FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics with Michele Merlino
- Tom Sykes started from pole the last two editions of the Misano races, in 2011 and 2012: in both cases qualifying was run in the wet. Tom however never climbed on the podium here. His best result is a fourth, scored in race one both in 2011 and 2012. The Briton scored points seven times out of eight here, missing out only in 2010 race two, when he was seventeenth under the flag.
- Jonathan Rea scored here his maiden win in 2009, race two, after a seventh in race one. Two troubled years followed: he was thiteenth and twelfth in 2010, he was nevertheless the best-placed Honda rider, while in 2011 he had to withdraw for wrist pain after a fall during the warm-up. In 2012 he repeated his second grid spot obtained in 2009, finishing fifth in race one and second in race two.
- Loris Baz in 2012 suffered a gearbox failure in race one, while in race two he was able to finish eighth. He was sixth in the 2010 Superstock 1000 race and ninth in the 2009 one. In his Superstock 600 championship year, 2008, he was third behind Patrik Vostarek and Marco Bussolotti.
- Sylvain Guintoli always scored good results in his three Superbike weekends here: in all the races he finished he was classified between fifth and seventh, missing the flag only in 2012 in race two for a fall. His best results are related to his first weekend here, in 2010, when he was sixth in grid and fifth and sixth in the races.
- Chaz Davies was able to climb through the field in 2012 in race one, when he finished sixth from 21st in grid. In race two he was on his way to repeat this performance, when he fell once tenth. In the 2011 and 2010 Supersport races he was sixth and fourth.
- Two Superbike weekends in Misano for Marco Melandri: in 2011 he was third in race one behind Checa and Biaggi, while he fell in race two on the first turn after the start. In 2012 he retired in race one for tyre wear problems and finished fourth in race two. Four MotoGP races for him here, with a fourth as best result, in the 2007 one, the first he contested here.
- Davide Giugliano qualified in fourth for the 2012 races: he managed to take the lead in race one, but was passed two laps from the end by Biaggi and Checa, finishing third. In race two he fell while fighting for third with Haslam and Rea. He won the 2011 Superstock 1000 race before Danilo Petrucci and
- Lorenzo Zanetti and won also the 2006 Superstock 600 race from Xavier Simeon and Niccolò Canepa. For him also one Supersport race, in 2007, ended with a retirement.
- Two podiums out of ten races run here for Leon Haslam: second in race two in 2010 and third in race two in 2012, before his team-mate Melandri. Leon scored points here nine times out of ten, finishing six times in the first eight. The only race without points came in 2011, race one: he took the lead on the opening lap, then he was passed by Checa, Biaggi and Melandri, falling while running fourth.
- Alex Lowes ran a Superstock 1000 race in Misano, in 2009: he slipped back to 34th on the opening lap, climbing back to 25th at the flag. The year before he was 21st in Superstock 600.
- The best result in Misano for Eugene Laverty is the one of his first race here, in 2011, when he was fifth, passed by Sykes on the final lap. He fell in race two while in third, he climbed back on his bike, finishing thirteenth. In 2012 he was seventh in race one and retired for a fall in race two. Excellent results in Supersport: in 2009 from eighth in grid he finished second, losing out at the flag against Cal Crutchlow, while in 2010 he dominated, winning from Joan Lascorz and Kenan Sofuoglu.
- Four MotoGP races in Misano for Toni Elias from 2007 to 2011: the Spaniard always scored points, managing to climb on the podium in 2008, third behind Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.
- Little luck for David Salom in Misano: three retirements out of four races contested. He managed to see the chequered flag only in 2009 in race one (23rd). He fared better in his only MotoGP race run in Misano, when he was fifteenth in 2012. David raced here also Four Supersport races, finishing fourth in the 2011 one.
- Niccolò Canepa was eighteenth and thirteenth here in 2012, suffering from electronical problems in race one. He was fifth in both Superstock 1000 races run in Misano in 2007 and 2011. His best result in this track came in Superstock 600 in 2006, when he finished third behind Davide Giugliano and Xavier Simeon, after scoring pole. Canepa was also thirteenth in the 2009 MotoGP race.
- Leon Camier never qualified in the top-10 in Misano, scoring a fourteenth as best grid spot in 2010 and 2012, however he managed to finish sixth twice: in 2010 and 2011, always in race one. Leon missed out on a points finish here only in 2011 in race two for a fall.
- In the 2010 races Luca Scassa was eleventh and eighth from eighth in grid. The following year he was banned for the Supersport race because he tested here beforehand, without this being a test track for his team. Four Superstock 1000 races for him in Misano: he managed a third in 2006 behind Alex Polita and Ayrton Badovini. In that race he came close to scoring pole, which went to Badovini for only 0.072 seconds.
- Fabien Foret is the only rider in Supersport history to have won two races in Misano: all the other fourteen winners weren’t able to win more than once. His wins came here in 2002 and 2003: he adds to those two second places in 2005 and 2011. He raced here in Superbikes in 2006, finishing thirteenth and tenth.
- Two Superstock 1000 races for Jeremy Guarnoni in Misano: his best result came in 2012, when he was sixth from second in grid. Two years before he dominated the Superstock 600 race with pole (his first one in Superstock 600) win and fastest race lap.
- This will be the fifth different international championship in which Claudio Corti will run in Misano. He was sixteenth in MotoGP last year. Before that, he raced three times here in Moto2 from 2010 to 2012: his best result was a ninth in 2010. Claudio always scored points in his four Superstock 1000 races here from 2006 to 2009, posting two fourths as best result, in 2007 and 2009. The Italian rider won here in Superstock 600, in 2005, beating Yoann Tiberio for only 0.136s.
- In 2012 Sheridan Morais raced in Misano in Supersport, finishing sixth from eighth in grid.
- Alessandro Andreozzi raced twice in Moto2 in Misano, without managing to finish in the first twenty: 29th in 2011 and 22nd in 2012. In the latter year he raced here in two championships, as he was also 20th in the Supersport class: that was his only Supersport appearance.
- Races to remember for Ayrton Badovini in Misano: in 2011 he was fourth in race one, at the time his best career result and eighth in race two. In 2012 he scored here is first front row start, qualifying fourth. In the two aforementioned weekends, for three times he was the best-placed BMW rider at the flag: he missed out only in 2012 in race two, when he was fifth, right behind the two works BMWs of Haslam and Melandri.
- Imre Toth ran three Supersport races in Misano, finishing in the points in 2012, in thirteenth. He raced here also three times in 250cc, without being able to score points.
- Bryan Staring had to retire from last year’s MotoGP race for a technical problem. The Aussie was eleventh and seventh in the two Superstock 1000 races he contested here in 2011 and 2012.
Manufacturer Statistics at Misano
- Aprilia won six times here, posting three doubles: in 2000 with Troy Corser and in 2010 and 2012 with Biaggi. Only Ducati won more in Misano (28 wins).
- BMW climbed on the podium twice in Misano, in third: in 2010 in race one with Troy Corser and in 2012 in race two with Ayrton Badovini. Corser in 2010 was able to start from pole: that was the last of the 43 poles by the Aussie, still the all-time leader, and the first one for BMW. Moreover, the aforementioned third by Troy in 2010 in race one was the last of his 130 podium appearances.
- Ducati are the most successful team in Misano, with 28, the last two thanks to a double by Checa in 2011. In the last weekend in Misano, the Italian team was able to finish on the podium with two riders in race one (Checa 2nd, Giugliano 3rd). The last Ducati pole in Misano dates back 2009, when Jakub Smrz scored his maiden Superbike pole.
- Honda won four times in Misano, but only once in this century, when Jonathan Rea won in race two in 2009, his maiden Superbike win. Rea is the only Honda rider able to start from the front row (second in 2009 and 2012) and to climb on the podium (winner in 2009 race one, second in 2012 race two) in Misano in the last six race weekends held here.
- Kawasaki won only once in Misano, twenty years ago, when Scott Russell, starting from pole, won race one. The last podium for the Japanese manufacturer is a third by Gregorio Lavilla in 2001. Their qualifying results are noteworthy: with four poles Kawasaki are second only to Ducati (11 poles) in this track. Thanks to Tom Sykes Kawasaki started from pole in the last two editions here.
- Suzuki won here in 2008 in race one with Max Neukirchner and managed to climb on the podium for the last time with Leon Haslam in race two in 2010 (second). The only Suzuki pole in this track came by Troy Corser in 2005.
World Supersport
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) heads the WSS field at the halfway point of the 2014 season. The young Dutchman scored his third win of the season a fortnight ago at Sepang, getting the better of Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) by only 18 thousandths of a second at the end of an enthralling race and exciting last lap. Van der Mark now holds a margin of 33 points over the Frenchman, who is now second in the standings ahead of compatriot Florian Marino (Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki).
Marino lost a lot of ground in the title fight as he crashed out of the Malaysian race. Scotsman Kev Coghlan (DMC-Panavto Yamaha) also left Asia with no points and he is now tied in fifth with Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport), 55 points behind the leader.
Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki) sits in sixth with 62 points to make up from the top, after beating Roberto Rolfo (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) for third at Sepang. The three time World Champion came out victorious in the last WSS race held at Misano two years ago by defeating Cluzel, who was on Honda machinery at the time.
Two former WSS regular riders are going to wildcard the Italian round onboard MV Agusta F3 675 machines: Alex Baldolini (ATK Racing), who already raced at Imola earlier this year, and Massimo Roccoli (Laguna Moto Racing).
Standings (Round 6 of 12): 1. Vd Mark 115; 2. Cluzel 82; 3. Marino 76; 4. Zanetti 60; 5. Coghlan 60; 6. Sofuoglu 54; 7. De Rosa 54; 8. Rolfo 49; 9. Jacobsen 40; 10. Tamburini 37; 11. Bussolotti 27; 12. Russo 25; 13. Wahr 23; 14. Wilairot 23; 15. Gamarino 21; 16. Menghi 19; 17. Kennedy 19; 18. Leonov 15; 19. Nocco 11; 20. Gowland 9; 21. Zaidi 7; 22. Coveña 7; 23. Schmitter 3; 24. Calero 3; 25. Rogers 1. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 136; 2. Kawasaki 103; 3. MV Agusta 90; 4. Yamaha 70; 5. Triumph 9.
Superstock 1000
Argentinian Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati) currently heads the STK1000 standings after two podium visits in the opening three races leave him 7 points clear of his team mate Ondrej Jezek. Jezek himself has been on the podium twice, taking the victory, the Czech rider’s first ever, last time out in Imola.
Team Pedercini have five riders contesting this year’s FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. Lorenzo Savadori was on course for at least a podium last time out until a technical problem ruled him out, the Italian is currently 3rd overall, 19 points off the lead of Mercado.
A historic maiden victory on home soil for Kevin Valk (MTM Racing) has elevated the Dutchman into a strong 4th overall one point ahead of the consistent Matthieu Lussiana (Team Garnier by ASPI) and Fabio Massei (EAB Racing Ducati) who took his first ever podium in Imola.
Another rider to keep an eye on is Romain Lanusse (Pedercini Kawasaki) who returns to STK1000 action after replacing the injured Luca Scassa in WSBK at Donington Park and Sepang.
Standings (Round 3 of 7): 1. Mercado 52; 2. Jezek 45; 3. Savadori 33; 4. Valk 32; 5. Lussiana 31; 6. Massei 28; 7. Lanusse 28; 8. McFadden 27; 9. Day 21; 10. D’Annunzio 20; 11. Nemeth 17; 12. Smith 16; 13. Bergman 13; 14. Grotzkyj G. 10; 15. Pagaud 10; 16. Muresan 8; 17. Suchet 8; 18. Schacht 8; 19. Walraven 6; 20. Castellarin 4; 21. Moser 2; 22. Ayer 1. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 70; 2. Kawasaki 58; 3. Honda 32; 4. BMW 21; 5. Suzuki 6.
Superstock 600
With a win at Assen and a second place in Imola, Finland’s Nikki Tuuli (Kallio Racing Yamaha) is looking good at the top of the standings, but with a win in the opening race, followed up by his second victory of the season last time out, Italy’s Marco Faccani (San Carlo Team Italia) is just 2 points shy of the Yamaha rider.
Faccani’s team-mate Andrea Tucci and Dutch rider Wayne Tessels (Wayne’s Racing Team Suzuki) are level on points in 3rd place overall courtesy of a strong start to the season that has seen them both on the podium and fighting hard at the front on more than one occasion.
Luca Salvadori (Team 10 Lap Racing) has been consistent in the opening three races so far with a 4th position his best result, while fellow Italian Kevin Manfredi (Agro-On Wil Racedays Honda) grabbed a maiden STK600 podium at Assen and is currently 6th overall in the current points table behind Salvadori.
After taking a brilliant 3rd place in Imola, VFT Racing’s Stefano Casalotti will arrive in Misano full of confidence and is certainly one to watch as are former race winner Gauthier Duwelz (MTM Racing Team) and Adrian Nestorovic (MVR Racing) who are yet to show their full potential.
With half a dozen local wildcard riders expected to join the fray, expect another all action race in Misano in STK600.
Standings (Round 3 of 7): 1. Tuuli 58; 2. Faccani 56; 3. Tucci 39; 4. Tessels 39; 5. Salvadori 31; 6. Manfredi 27; 7. Mikhalchik 27; 8. Casalotti 25; 9. Duwelz 18; 10. Rinaldi 15; 11. Lahti 14; 12. Hartog 13; 13. Caricasulo 10; 14. Marchal 10; 15. Nestorovic 9; 16. Mercandelli 5; 17. Gobbi 5; 18. Lewis 5; 19. Zeelen 5; 20. Puffe 3; 21. Canducci 3; 22. Pittet 2; 23. Patronen 1.
European Junior Cup
Two wins and a 3rd in the last three races, together with a 4th in the opening round leave last year’s EJC runner up Augusto Fernandez (WIL Sport) with a 6 point lead over compatriot Javier Orellana (Europe Food SL) as the fight to become this year’s PATA European Junior Cup champion resumes at Misano.
Spanish riders have so far dominated the 2014 championship, winning all four races in what is always a closely contested affair.
Marc Miralles (Construccions J.Miralles) won in Aragon but after finishing only 6th at Donington Park at the end of May is now 17 points behind Fernandez in the standings.
Standings (Round 4 of 8): 1. Fernandez 79; 2. Orellana 73; 3. Miralles 62; 4. Hubner 40; 5. Licciardi 34; 6. Fernandez 34; 7. Perez 33; 8. Harland 27; 9. Grassia 27; 10. London 26; 11. Soomer 25; 12. Van Sikkelerus 20; 13. Wisdom 20; 14. Brink 13; 15. Geissler 10; 16. Hill 8; 17. Gabellini 7; 18. Moreno 5; 19. Drayton 4; 20. Zhu 4; 21. Van Schoonhoven 3; 22. Ortt 2; 23. Patterson 2; 24. Levy 2.
