Misano Action Guaranteed to be Red Hot
18 June 2003
Taking place only one week after some of the most closely
contest World Superbike races in history, at Silverstone in Great Britain,
the San Marino round of the 16th World Superbike Championship takes
place at what is expected to be a superheated Misano Adriatico circuit
in Italy.
Situated behind the Adriatic Riviera towns of Riccione
and Cattolica, which become a summer playground for visitors from all
over Italy, the Misano Adriatico circuit has hosted 12 previous World
Superbike rounds, in an unbroken sequence from 1991 to 2003. Legendary
names such as Fogarty, Corser, Chili, Polen, Falappa, Kocinski Russell,
Slight and Bayliss have all won races at the compact Misano track, a
circuit which has experienced ambient temperatures of up to 40°C
in the run-up to this year’s race weekend.
The track itself is something of a torture chamber for
tyres, with so many extreme lean angle left hand corners in its relatively
short 4.060km length. Most bends are slow and technical but a flat out
blast through the gearbox, from the Curva del Caro to the exit of the
third left-handed section of the awe-inspiring Curvone, marks Misano
out as a uniquely challenging circuit on the SBK
trail. 
Always a popular venue for the enthusiastic Italian fans,
Misano has been a happy hunting ground for some notable names in the
current SBK paddock. Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998RS) and Troy
Corser (Foggy Petronas FP-1) have both taken wins at the venue, but
for current runaway championship leader Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila 999F03),
Misano will be another new world for him to conquer, should he continue
his rich seam of form. Eleven wins from 12 attempts sums up his season
better than a thousand words of prose, but for Hodgson, Misano may prove
to be a crucible, rather than an opportunity to bag another golden cup.
Hodgson’s single defeat thus far took place at
Oschersleben in Germany, on a similar track to Misano and in hot weather
conditions, and thus the man who sits second in the table at present
will fancy his chances to repeat his Oschersleben race two victory.
James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati 998 F02) was that man, although his
second position in the title race is a closely contested one.
Ruben Xaus, Hodgson’s team-mate in the Ducati Fila
team, is a close third, after two podium performances in England ended
a run of bad luck and crashes from the outrageously talented Catalan.
His performances may be unpredictable but his ability to push the motorcycle
to feats of breathtaking bravado put him in an all action class of his
own.
On a fully private machine Regis Laconi (NCR Ducati 998RS)
will be a threat at such a technical circuit, while Misano may be a
venue that Gregorio Lavilla (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000) can take his
first win of the year. Proving beyond doubt the prowess of himself and
his four-cylinder 1000cc machine, Lavilla has been a major star this
season.
Injury and pain have held back the title charge of Chris
Walker (HM Plant Ducati 998F02) but with every week that passes without
injury for the enthusiastic Englishman, Walker’s chances of repeating
his podium finished increase exponentially, despite the high level of
competition in SBK this season.
For the aforementioned Pierfrancesco Chili home tarmac
has always been a bitter sweet experience, but even on a private machine
Chili will be a threat, having scored a win at Misano in 1997.
Steve Martin (DFX Pirelli Ducati 998RS) heads up a gaggle
of fast Ducati privateers yet to win a race: Juan Borja and Marco Borciani
(his team-mates) will be out for a big points haul, Lucio Pedercini
on his self entered machine is always capable of a strong performance,
especially when flanked by his team-mates Nello Russo and Serafino Foti.
Walter Tortoroglio rides a WET Honda VTR1000 on home ground
again, while his local riders Ivan Clementi and Mauro Sanchini battle
the 1000cc machines on their ex-factory Bertocchi Kawasaki 750s.
Alessandro Gramigni is a big name wild card on his Team
Nuvolari 391 Yamaha R1, and a host of other Italian SBK regulars will
be out to get their names on the SBK point’s ladder in 2003.
In the World Supersport Championship the seemingly limitless
talent and speed of Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) has taken
him to four wins out of six, the only others scoring full points so
far being Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R600) and Christian
Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany R6).
Vermeulen’s outstanding performances have drawn
him 47 points clear of his competitors, the closest of them being Jurgen
van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda R6) who has scored numerous podiums
but no win so far.
Former Misano race winners who will be back in Italy this year include
2000 World Champion Jörg Teuchert (Yamaha Motor Germany), 2002
champion Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Racing Team) and the aforementioned
Kellner.
A podium place for Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) may
have broken the hex that had appeared to plague his results in the first
half of the season, while any number of the 19 full factory machines
in World Supersport could be in for a podium finish.
Fans unable to attend the race itself, or unable to watch
on TV, can follow the weekend’s action on the all-new SBK
website.
See series calendar for SBK
World Superbike Championship 2003
Related Story 08.06.2003 - New
BTCC Regulations Open Door for ETCC Manufacturers
Image : www.worldsbk.com
