World motorcycle championship leader Casey Stoner has blasted the Misano circuit ahead of Sunday’s San Marino MotoGP Grand Prix.
Safety issues and a poor surface are among chief concerns of the young Australian as he seeks to build on his 60-point lead over Valentino Rossi in the series.
The race will be held at the 4.1km seaside track near the Adriatic resort town of Riccione.
For safety reasons, it will be run in reverse direction, eliminating much of the knowledge any riders gained from their previous experience at the track.
Stoner is one of many riders worried about bumps and safety problems at Misano, with bikes capable of more than 320kmh.
Stoner rode two laps at the recent World Ducati Week celebrations, Chris Vermeulen raced Superbikes there in 2005 (in the normal direction) and another Australian, Anthony West, won a World Supersport 600 race there in June.
“I did two laps on the Ducati test bike and my brains nearly got rattled out through my head,” Stoner said.
“The track is a lot bumpier than Laguna Seca (in America), there are a lot of long corners and there is a lot of pressure on front tyre wear.
“It’s not really a grand prix track and the right-hand corner coming off the back straight is fast, a little too fast perhaps.
“I feel it needs to be improved because it’s very bumpy, so it’s going to be pretty loose on these bikes.”
The track was last used for a grand prix in 1993.
Rossi will be at home again, fighting both to catch Stoner and ignore pressure of an investigation by Italian tax authorities.
Apart from the change to a clockwise direction, the track has a revised layout and a new tarmac.
An additional hour of practice has been allocated tomorrow so that riders can familiarise themselves with the circuit.
Vermeulen denies he will have any advantage because of his Superbike experience.
“I am one of the few riders that have been to Misano before, but with the track changing direction the only advantage that will give me is that I will know where to park my motorhome,” Vermeulen said.
The Queenslander is fourth in the points and hoping to make a late charge for third on Spanish Honda rider Dani Pedrosa.
SAN MARINO