After only four days of rest the MotoGP paddock will travel back to Italy for Round 12 of the 2010 championship at Misano this weekend. With a total of seven rounds remaining, Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo leads the series by a massive 68 points. At Indy the championship leader suffered his first result under second-place, but still took a podium finish for what was his 11th-consective podium of the ‘10 season. Lorenzo will be joined by Yamaha teammate and Italy’s own Valentino Rossi at San Marino. Both riders will be eager to impress as it is their team’s home venue. Another team who will be looking for a strong performance is the Ducati Marlboro duo of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden. Both suffered incidents which set them back tremendously in the finishing order at Indy, and as a result they’ll be looking for drastic improvements in their performances.
 
Even though it was his worst result of the season, Lorenzo’s third-place finish at Indianapolis was far from a disaster. The Spaniard managed to excel under extremely hot and humid conditions while navigating a track riddled with imperfections. But despite the leader’s applaudable finish, Lorenzo was ultimately disappointed after feeling he could have posed more of a threat up front. For Misano, Lorenzo continues to set his expectations high after he’s taken second at the Italian circuit for the past two years. Also, Lorenzo will be seeking a victory over Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, who not only won the last round at Indy but also stole a win from Lorenzo in Italy earlier this season back at Mugello.
 
"We are going straight to Misano and I want to continue in the same way and get on the podium again,” Lorenzo said. “I've been second there for the last two years and I am feeling very motivated and looking forward to another good race. I hope the temperature is a bit cooler than in Indy because it was really too hot there. Last Sunday was my worst result this year, but I am still happy because it was still third and because it was very important for our goal, which is the Championship."
 
Meanwhile Honda’s Pedrosa put in one of his most impressive rides of the season to beat out rookie Ben Spies and make up nine points on Lorenzo in the process. His most recent success at Indy was the first time in Pedrosa’s career that he had taken more than two MotoGP wins in a single season. Last year at Misano Pedrosa took third behind Rossi and Lorenzo, and there is little doubt that the Honda rider will be looking to duplicate if not improve upon that result.
 
“We are at a very competitive moment right now and three wins so far this year has taken me past my total in the previous MotoGP seasons,” Pedrosa said. “It’s a nice milestone to pass and so I’m feeling very confident for the next races. Indianapolis was great and it was very satisfying to win such a physically demanding race, however, we don’t have so much time to recover before Misano this weekend. Having said that, we’ll be ready. The team is in a good mood and we have proved that we can be competitive for many races in a row, so we want to continue this form. Misano has been a difficult circuit for Honda in the last few years but this time we will try to do the best possible job and be right at the front once again.”
 
Pedrosa’s teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, had a good start to his race at Indy but failed to maintain his pace to the end. Finishing fifth ahead of Hayden, Dovizioso managed to break into the top-three in the championship over Stoner and leads the Aussie by only seven points. In order to maintain his third-place position in the standings and earn his fifth podium of the season at his home race, Dovizioso will need a strong finish in the top-three at Misano.
 
“We arrive in Misano in very determined mood; our target is the podium,” Dovizioso said. “In Indianapolis we were fast during the race weekend but we couldn’t maintain consistent speed for the whole race distance and this is something we must work on and improve. In last year’s MotoGP weekend here I raced for the first time with Ohlins suspension and I came home fourth, which was a respectable result. So I’m feeling very positive about this GP because compared to last year we have progressed a lot.”
 
Running fourth and seventh respectively in the championship are Stoner and Hayden. While both struggled at Indy the two now head to a circuit which also saw them struggle the year before with Hayden crashing out and Stoner missing it altogether due to illness. Prior to 2009, however, the pair experienced some success at the circuit, including a win by Stoner in 2007 and Hayden leading the 2008 race before crashing out.
 
“Indy was obviously a big disappointment for us but we're looking ahead,” Stoner said. “I am happy to be going to one of Ducati's home circuits and a place where we have gone fast in the past. We'll have to work hard on the front again because we don't want to take a backward step on the progress we've made recently.”
 
The return to Italy marks the second and final home race of the season for Rossi and Fiat Yamaha. The Misano circuit lies just 13km from Rossi’s hometown and is where the defending champion lives today. With thousands of Rossi fans in attendance there will be no better time to make a full return to the top of the steps. The Doctor struggled in the previous round at Indy with grip and his injured leg, but the Italian takes comfort in the fact that he now arrives at a venue he’s won at for the past two years in a row.
 
“It's hard going straight to Misano with no break but hopefully it will be a little bit cooler than Indy,” Rossi said. “Of course it's my home race and it's near my house so it's always very special to race there, in front of all of my fans. I have won there the last two years but this year we come in slightly different circumstances. Still, we will be trying our hardest and I really hope I can give the fans a good show!"

Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Spies is certainly one rider who will be arriving at Misano under ideal conditions after taking second in his home race at indy. In his rookie year the World Superbike Champion has managed sixth-place in the MotoGP Championship and is just four points away from legendary GP racer Rossi. With seven rounds left and only 16 points separating Spies and the top-three in the series, the young rider's future looks incredibly bright. His second-place finish at Indy came shortly after signing with Factory Yamaha for the 2011 season.
 
Moto 2

Leading the Moto 2 division is Gresini Racing’s Toni Elias, who pulled off a fabulous victory at Indy ahead of Julian Simon and Scott Redding despite suffering from an intense fever. Elias’ latest victory marks his third straight win in the series and his fifth victory of the ’10 season. With a 67-point lead in the championship, Elias will attempt another win at his team’s home circuit in Italy.
 
“At Misano I will try to continue the good work of recent races, especially because it would be great to get another strong result at the team’s home event,” Elias said. “Moto2 is a tough class, there are so many riders going fast that you can never relax, not even for one moment, so we have to keep focused and keep fighting because there are still a lot of races to go.”
 
Fimmco Speed Up’s Andrea Iannone will be looking for more impressive results this time around beginning with improving his qualifying. The Italian had to start from 26th on the grid in the last round at Indy, but still managed to salvage a fourth-place finish. With two wins and two podiums so far this season Iannone has shown himself to be a worthy competitor. He’s currently second in the Moto 2 Championship.
 
“It will be great to be racing in Italy again,” Iannone said. “Obviously I have great memories of my win at Mugello and I will do everything I can to give the Italian fans another victory. Like always in Moto2, it will be tough.”
 
Interwetten Moriwaki’s Thomas Luthi is currently tied for third in the Moto 2 series with Julian Simon. After taking sub-par results in the last three rounds Luthi will be looking to rekindle some of his former glory from earlier this season.
 
“In Misano we will get a new engine and I am so much looking forward to that,” Luthi said. “I think the whole team is. And we hope that it will get us back to the top again.”