Aperol Grand Prix of San Marino 2013

Posted on Sep 09, 2013 by Nick Harris

ROUND THIRTEEN 2013 MotoGP™ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15

Bradley Smith has a 125cc podium finish and pole at Misano and will be looking for a good result in the 27 lap race on Sunday to kick-start the final third of his MotoGP rookie season

Bradley Smith:
“It was a week of rest and then to Misano for the next round and those Ducati's will have an advantage after testing there so much. We know they will be strong from the word go but I‘ve got a good record at Misano with poles and podiums. I’m also really excited about the test the day after the grand prix. I'm finding out more about the bike the whole time and the test gives you the opportunity to try whatever you want. We have some great ideas in the pipeline and we need to test them and see if they work.”

NO OPERATION MARQUEZ DEFENDS 30 POINT LEAD
Marc Marquez defends a thirty point lead at round 13 of the MotoGP World Championship buoyed by the news he does not require an operation on the shoulder he dislocated at the previous round. The Repsol Honda rider arrives at the Aperol Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera of Rimini at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on the Adriatic coast of Italy in sight of the championship with six rounds of his incredible rookie season remaining.

He has won four out of the last five races and finished second to World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in a photo finish at the last round at Silverstone despite dislocating his shoulder in a morning warm-up crash. If that is not impressive enough he chases his fourth successive victory at Misano after consecutive 125 and Moto2 victories. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa can only watch his progress from the podium and needs to start beating him to have any chance of wrestling the title from his grasp. Pedrosa won at Misano three years ago while Lorenzo has brought Yamaha victory for the last two years. The World Champion inflicted a rare defeat on Marquez at Silverstone but still trails him by 39 points as he chases his third successive win at Misano.

His team-mate Valentino Rossi lives close to the circuit and brought the area to a standstill with successive wins in 2008/9. The nine times world champion has finished fourth in the last three races and would like nothing more than a repeat of his Assen victory earlier in the season in front of the home fans. Cal Crutchlow makes his first Italian appearance since announcing he will join Ducati next season and will want to forget his home round at Silverstone where he finished seventh after three crashes.

Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista are separated by ten points in their battle for sixth with Bautista finishing in front of the former Moto2 World Champion in the last three races. It’s an important race for both of them with Bautista’s GO&FUN Gresini team based at Misano and Bradl’s LCR team competing in Italy for the second time this year. It’s always a big race for Ducati with Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden hoping that the frequent Ducati testing at the 2.626 miles circuit on the Adriatic coast will help them get nearer the front runners.

Aleix Espargaro is the leading CRT rider on the Power Electronic Aspar ART machine after another superb season. The Spaniard is tenth in the overall championship just two points in front of Bradley Smith who will be looking for a productive end to his MotoGP rookie season on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha. Another rookie Andrea Iannone continues to fight against injuries on the Pramac Ducati while Michele Pirro looks likely to continue replacing the injured Ben Spies.


MISANO FACTS AND FIGURES
Circuit Length: 2.626 miles
Width: 14m
Pole Position: Left
Longest Straight: 565m
Left Corners: Six
Right Corners: Ten
Pole Position Record: Casey Stoner/Honda 1.33.138 (2011)
Lap Record: Jorge Lorenzo/Yamaha 1'33.906 (2011)


TELEVISION TIMES
BBC/BRITISH EUROSPORT
Friday 13 September
12:05 - 15:00 Moto3/MotoGP/Moto2 FP 2 Connected TV/Online and British Eurosport 2

Saturday 14 September
08:45 - 10:40 MotoGP FP3, Connected TV and Online
11:20 - 15:00 Moto3/MotoGP and Moto2 Qualifying Red Button and British Eurosport 2

Sunday 15 September
09:50 Moto3 and Moto2 race Red Button and British Eurosport 2
12:30 - 14:30 MotoGP race Red Button
14:15 - 15:15 Moto3 race Red Button and British Eurosport