It’s hard to believe that this year’s Superbike World Championship round in San Marino marks the halfway point in the 2012 series. Coming on the back of two wins in the last two rounds, the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team arrives at the newly named Marco Simoncelli Circuit in great shape and aiming to continue its quest for more race victories.

The 4.226km circuit – formerly known as ‘Misano’– was renamed in honour of the talented MotoGP racer who lived locally but lost his life at last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The track has fond memories for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team as it was the scene of the team’s first ever pole position and second podium, in the capable hands of Troy Corser, now a brand ambassador for BMW Motorrad.

For Marco Melandri, it is the perfect time for him to arrive at his ‘home’ circuit, coming on the back of two victories in the last two rounds that have catapulted him up to second in the points, just 18 behind current series leader, fellow Italian Max Biaggi.

“I am excited to go to Misano. It is the first time I will arrive in Italy after having won a race with BMW, so I expect many fans to come and see the race,” said Marco, who was a podium finisher there last year. “For sure I am proud to come to Misano after what we achieved at the last two rounds. I will have a lot of pressure on my shoulders, because there will be high expectations as everybody thinks that I can get a good result there. But I like this! At the last three rounds, we had three completely different types of tracks and our RR worked well on all of them. Misano again is another different track, so it is going to be interesting how competitive we can be there. And actually, it will be the first time this season that we race in very hot conditions.

“The Misano circuit is nice, but it has many stop-and-go corners, so it is going to be much more important to have a good position on the starting grid than it was in Salt Lake City. My thoughts are with all the people who were affected by the recent earthquake. We could feel it quite strongly at my home, as the epicentre was not far from my house. In Misano I will use a special helmet and I want to auction it after the races to support the people who lost everything in these hard times. I am trying to do what I can do to help.”

Riding in his second consecutive year for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team, Leon Haslam will be looking forwards to returning to a circuit he enjoys racing at. Last year, he was unlucky, as he had a big crash while running in a podium position. Despite carrying an injury that turned out to be a broken ankle, he managed to battle to achieve a fifth place in race two.

“I am looking forward to Misano and to making amends for the USA round. I really like the track and I can’t wait to be fighting at the front again. Misano is a circuit I really enjoy and where our RR goes quite well. The characteristics of the track suit our bike. Already last year, two podium places were in reach for us. However, I had a really bad crash when I was in a podium position in race one. In race two I finished inside the top five despite a broken ankle."

"After the earthquakes in Italy, my thoughts are with the people in the region around Modena, who are going through a difficult time. Italy is a second home for me, as me and my family spend a lot of time there.”

Head of Race Operations Andrea Dosoli believes both team riders have a great chance at this physically demanding by flowing circuit with its mixture of fast sections and numerous chicanes.

“After the second win in the last two events the whole team is very motivated to race for the third time this season in Italy,” he said. “Misano is a track that seems easy but it’s a tricky one. It is technically demanding, with fast bends like ‘Curvone’, but also slow and tight corners, some of them with hard braking. In addition, the grip isn’t always the best, so it needs a big effort from the team and the riders to find the proper setting for the chassis, gearing and engine management. Considering the performance BMW showed here in the past – including the pole position and the podium with Troy Corser – and that our RR has been well suited to all the different tracks we’ve raced on so far, we’re looking forward to this event.

“Marco and his crew are very motivated and as concentrated as I’ve ever seen, so I’m confident that he will continue the form that he has shown so far. He will get extra support from the Italian fans of course. Leon has to forget the difficulties he has experienced in Miller and return to the level seen in Donington. I’m sure that with all the support of his crew and the whole BMW Motorrad Motorsport team he will be able to fight again with the top guys.”

Another rider to look out for at Misano is BMW Motorrad Italia Goldbet SBK Team rider Ayrton Badovini, who missed out on his first WSBK podium by just eight hundredths of a second there last year on the RR.

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