There will be a lot of tributes paid to Simoncelli at the San Marino circuit named after him, as the rider’s presence will be forever in the hearts of those in the MotoGP paddock and beyond. At a circuit not particularly favoured by the late rider himself, the San Carlo Honda Gresini team is poised to put in a strong performance once again.
Spain's Alvaro Bautista is aiming to bounce back from his disappointing result in the Czech Republic, whilst his Italian team mate Michele Pirro will try to improve upon his recent results, having ended a negative run of four consecutive retirements in the Czech Republic.
Alvaro Bautista
"The race at Brno didn’t leave me satisfied and my feeling with the bike wasn’t as good as expected. We had plenty of problems with braking and corner entry all weekend. We also had an issue with rear grip in the race that wasn’t there in practice. All this meant that we couldn’t push as hard as we would have liked, so our first task is going to be finding a good feeling with the bike and judging our potential from there. Misano will be a different race for many reasons. It is Team San Carlo Honda Gresini’s home track and this will be the first time that we ride there since it was renamed after Marco Simoncelli. I can’t wait to get on track and try to get a good result."
Michele Pirro
"I finally took the chequered flag again at Brno and reached the goal of finishing a race, after four consecutive retirements. Our hard work and determination needs to continue to grow as the season comes closer to the end, and we want to be back fighting for the top CRT honour. This weekend at Misano will be very special. It is the home track for the team and holds Marco Simoncelli’s name, so we will have a lot of emotion that we will use as motivation to have a great race."
Fausto Gresini
"It is going to be a weekend of strong emotions. For our team, Misano has always been a special race, because our Race Department is just a few kilometres from the circuit, but this year things will be really different. The many initiatives to celebrate Marco’s memory and the naming of the track after him will ensure this. It will be very difficult, but I hope that the guys and our riders can honour our friend with positive results. I am convinced of the commitment of everyone will be at a maximum, because Marco’s memory lives on in all of us and he will help us to perform a miracle at his circuit."
Press release courtesy of San Carlo Honda Gresini.
Spain's Alvaro Bautista is aiming to bounce back from his disappointing result in the Czech Republic, whilst his Italian team mate Michele Pirro will try to improve upon his recent results, having ended a negative run of four consecutive retirements in the Czech Republic.
Alvaro Bautista
"The race at Brno didn’t leave me satisfied and my feeling with the bike wasn’t as good as expected. We had plenty of problems with braking and corner entry all weekend. We also had an issue with rear grip in the race that wasn’t there in practice. All this meant that we couldn’t push as hard as we would have liked, so our first task is going to be finding a good feeling with the bike and judging our potential from there. Misano will be a different race for many reasons. It is Team San Carlo Honda Gresini’s home track and this will be the first time that we ride there since it was renamed after Marco Simoncelli. I can’t wait to get on track and try to get a good result."
Michele Pirro
"I finally took the chequered flag again at Brno and reached the goal of finishing a race, after four consecutive retirements. Our hard work and determination needs to continue to grow as the season comes closer to the end, and we want to be back fighting for the top CRT honour. This weekend at Misano will be very special. It is the home track for the team and holds Marco Simoncelli’s name, so we will have a lot of emotion that we will use as motivation to have a great race."
Fausto Gresini
"It is going to be a weekend of strong emotions. For our team, Misano has always been a special race, because our Race Department is just a few kilometres from the circuit, but this year things will be really different. The many initiatives to celebrate Marco’s memory and the naming of the track after him will ensure this. It will be very difficult, but I hope that the guys and our riders can honour our friend with positive results. I am convinced of the commitment of everyone will be at a maximum, because Marco’s memory lives on in all of us and he will help us to perform a miracle at his circuit."
Press release courtesy of San Carlo Honda Gresini.
