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New look Honda team honours Simoncelli at Misano - Malcolm - 12-09-2012 Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) arrives for the San Marino Grand Prix riding a two-race winning streak that has taken him within 13 points of championship leader Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard will work to further close that gap on a weekend when he will be joined by a new teammate and one which will honour the memory of a former Honda grand prix star. Honda World Superbike rider Jonathan Rea will ride the Repsol Honda RC213V in place of the injured Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V). Stoner sustained serious damage to his right ankle in a qualifying crash at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. A day later, the gritty Australian raced to a fourth place finish. But once his doctors in Australia saw the extent of the damage, he was on his way home. No timetable has been set for his return, though he can be expected to do everything in his power to return at least for his home grand prix at Phillip Island at the end of October. In his place is Rea, the 25-year-old rider from Northern Ireland, who, between his World Superbike duties and two tests of the Repsol Honda RC213V, has had a whirlwind few weeks. Rea calls the opportunity to race the Repsol Honda “a big dream come true” at a track where he won his first World Superbike race in 2009. Earlier this year he finished second in a World Superbike race here. Rea understands that testing and racing are two very different things, but he is ready to continue to explore the limit when practice starts at the track near the Adriatic resort of Misano Adriatico on Friday morning. The track is also close to the San Clemente workshop of the San Carlo Honda Gresini team, where the number 58 white and red San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V of Marco Simoncelli was prepared. Following Simoncelli’s tragic death in last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix, the track was renamed Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Simoncelli grew up and lived in nearby Cattolica and there will be various commemorations of his life and career this weekend. The greatest way to honour his memory is with a Honda victory and that is what Pedrosa will be aiming for. The Spaniard continues to mature as a rider and that was on display in Brno. Where it was once thought Pedrosa could only win from the front, he has improved his racecraft so that he is now a threat any time he’s within striking distance. Misano has been a particularly good track for him. The past three races he has been on the podium, second in 2011, winning in 2010, and coming third in 2009. And his season has been equally impressive. Other than a fourth in Le Mans, he has been on the podium in every race. LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl finished second in last year’s Moto2 race at Misano en route to the 2011 Moto2 World Championship. Now on the senior circuit, the young German is the rookie sensation of the season and showing maturity far beyond his limited MotoGP experience. He currently sits sixth in the championship. In his previous visit to Italy this season, Bradl finished a career best fourth, and nearly, third in the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. With the encouragement of his Italian team, he is hopeful of a repeat performance. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista wants to put the previous Brno weekend behind him. The Spaniard finished an unsatisfying sixth and understands how important his performance will be at the team’s home track. Bautista was eighth the past two years in MotoGP. Prior to that he had been third in the 250cc class in 2009 a year after winning the 250cc race in 2008. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Michele Pirro (San Carlo Gresini Honda FTR) ended a streak of frustration with his finish in the Czech Grand Prix. Pirro, who rides a Honda CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine, had been making steady improvement until a series of setbacks. But the team and Pirro never wavered and they were rewarded with a turnaround in the Czech Republic. Now team and rider plan to continue their quest to be the top CRT rider with the added motivation of the venue. Misano Adriatico is hosting its 16th grand prix, though they haven’t been consecutive. The track first hosted a grand prix in 1980 before being removed from the calendar at the end of the 1993 season, the year that three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey was paralyzed in a Misano gravel trap. It was 2007 before the race returned to the calendar with race won by Casey Stoner. By then the track direction had been reversed and the infrastructure updated. The 4.226Km circuit, with six lefts and ten rights, now runs clockwise. The reversal changed the character of the track, which does not have the high speed of Mugello, the other Italian MotoGP venue. Rather the track is one that puts a premium on hard braking and hard acceleration and little chance for the powerful 1000s to stretch their legs; the longest straightaway is 565m. Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli is a rider and fan favourite for its location within sight of the Adriatic Sea. Dani Pedrosa is Honda’s most recent premier class winner having won in 2010, Mick Doohan won in 1991, Pier-Francesco Chili in 1989 and three-time world champion Freddie Spencer in 1984. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says: “Misano is a tricky track, quite bumpy, with a lot of braking and accelerations. The grip level is always a challenge, because it changes a lot from the morning sessions to the afternoon. In the past, our bike has been quite unstable there, but I believe this year we have improved that. I hope the work we have done in the Brno and Aragon tests with suspension and electronics can help us to start the weekend strong in Misano. We need to continue working in the same way, focusing on our bike's performance and my riding to keep reducing the gap in the championship.” Repsol Honda rider Jonathan Rea says: “For me it’s a big dream come true just to race in MotoGP; it's been very unfortunate for Casey (Stoner) to sustain such an injury when he was having a very strong season and my best wishes go to him while he recovers. Now my job is to replace him and I will try to do the best I can. I love Misano, I've already raced there this year and I finished second, it's also where I had my first ever Superbike win in 2009 and I enjoy the circuit and the Italian fans, they are always very enthusiastic. I take this opportunity like a great gift from Honda. In the few days I've spent with the team I have felt very good, they understand it will take me some time to push with this bike, but I'm learning every time I get on it. It's been great to have these three days testing on the bike to prepare myself and for sure Friday morning will be less chaotic. We already have the riding position set, the base setup is set and I understand the electronics a little more. I know it's going to be busy, but I'm ready.” LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl says: “Misano is a good race track for me. Last year I finished second in the Moto2 class and it would be amazing finishing this race in the front like we did in Mugello. I always feel very comfortable there. The grip condition is pretty good and I like the layout. I am looking forward to that race, because it’s extremely important for my team and this year we will all race with a special memory in our hearts. I am pretty sure that the crowd will be huge and they will be there to honour Marco’s memory at his home race.” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says: “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. I didn’t take a positive memory from the last visit to Italy, but at this track I have ridden well in MotoGP –and above all in 250cc. We are going to have to work hard in practice in order to be competitive on race day. Misano is a unique circuit because of it’s anti-clockwise direction. I like it, but it isn’t one of my favourite tracks. Most of the way it is slow, but there are a few fast corners like ‘Carro’ that I really enjoy. The start into the narrow first corner is very tricky, so it will be important to get a good grid position.” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Michele Pirro says: “I finally took the chequered flag again at Brno and reached the goal of finishing a race, after four consecutive retirements. It wasn’t an easy race in the Czech Republic, but in the end I was fairly satisfied with not taking another DNF. 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.” .