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This weekend we go to San Marino, visiting a Misano track named after the greatest rider who never was.
Misano is always a poignant moment on the MotoGP calendar. The circuit is named after Marco Simoncelli, the Italian former 250cc world champion who would have undoubtedly gone on to win several world championships had he not died in a crash at Malaysia in 2011. The entire weekend is now a legacy to Simoncelli, with a kart race which he set up to take place each year at the circuit just the beginning of remembering a truly great rider.
As for the circuit itself...
It's a pretty good lap, and one that Simoncelli loved going around.
In The NewsThe only addition to the signing board for 2016 is Scott Redding taking the Pramac Ducati ride from under the nose of Danny Kent. It's just reward for Redding, who deserves a better bike than the Marc VDS which is currently underneath him. As for Kent, he says he still has offers for MotoGP in 2016, but whether he'll find a ride as competitive and fast as the Pramac is up for debate.
Another Brit, Sam Lowes, seems to be in a bit of a quandry. The pre-contract he supposedly signed for 2016 with Aprilia may not be on the table now. Aprilia have been impressed by Stefan Bradl's pace, and now appear to be offering Lowes a Kalex top-end bike for Moto2 for next year, then moving up to GP for 2017. Bradl, who will receive the new bike frame that Alvaro Bautista has been trying out, is expected to be confirmed for next year this weekend.
Elsewhere, Tito Rabat is now expected to stay in his Marc VDS team, taking Scott Redding's MotoGP ride.
We'll have four wildcards this weekend - Michele Pirro will make his second factory Ducati ride of the year after finishing eighth at Mugello, Valentino Rossi's half-brother Luca Marini will be in the same garage as Alex Rins on the MotoGP HP Paginas Amarillas bike, ex-minor class stand out Mattia Pasini will also line up in Moto2, while in Moto3 Hungarian Superstock 600 champion Adrian Gyutai will make his debut in Moto3, following in the footsteps of fellow countryman, former 125cc world champion Gabor Talmasci.
Last Time OutTwo weeks have passed since a sun-drenched British GrHAHAHAHAHA. It rained a lot. It was fun. Have a read of the recap by clicking here.
PredictionsMoto3 - Miguel OliveiraMoto2 - Tito RabatMotoGP - Marc Marquez
Race TimesBack to the usual European timings this week.
All Times Given As BST - -5 Hours For EDT Saturday Qualifying Sunday Race MotoGP Q1 - 13:10-13:25 Q2 - 13:35-13:50 13:00 Moto2 14:05-14:50 11:20 Moto3 11:35-12:15 10:00A quick note: I'm at work all weekend, so the race recap won't be up as soon as usual. It will, however, be up Sunday evening, when I've gotten in and watched the races.
