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Jonas Folger had a weekend of highs and lows at Misano, with a qualifying lap deleted for exceeding track limits in Q1 then leaving him with a comeback on his hands for race day.

The German moved up to take ninth in the race, but was disappointed with his pace in the wet – normally a particular strong point for the rookie.

"Honestly, I’m not so happy with this weekend in general. But I have always tried to do my best." He said " enjoyed riding out there on Saturday afternoon."

"Sunday was a different story because I felt a lot more comfortable in the dry. In the rainy warm up, we decided to change something"

"But we were a bit unhappy with this, because I then struggled with edge grip. Therefore, we tried to fix the problem with putting more weight on the rear and a softer shock. In the end, however, it was a mistake as turning got worse during the race." Added Folger

"The positive thing is, that we finished the race and were able to take some points with us. But I’m disappointed because I expected a lot more, particularly due to the rainy conditions."

"During warm up we were faster than Johann (Zarco) but for the race, he and his crew managed to make progress while we made a step back."

"This should not happen actually even if we finished in ninth position. So, our focus is already set on the next race in Aragón where we have to try to do a better job."

"This is especially true for me, particularly at the beginning of the weekend, where I must find confidence more quickly. In addition, I have to find my usual level of high performance as soon as possible, as well as we have to setup the bike better for the race." He concluded

source: motogp.com

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Michele Pirro impressed once again on his wildcard appearance at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with frontrunning pace throughout practice and a P5 in the race.

The Italian also looked to be able to threaten Maverick Viñales for fourth, but after battling Jack Miller, found the gap was a little too big to bridge.

But a P5 finish on home turf to make it three Borgo Panigale machines in the top five means Pirro leaves the San Marino GP happy with the weekend overall.

"The race was very difficult because the track isn’t easy with those conditions." Said the Italian

"But my race was complicated after a crash in qualifying and I didn’t start in a good position."

"But after ten laps my feeling was very good and I improved my speed, and I reduced the gap to Maverick." He added

"But the battle with Miller meant I lost the gap to Maverick and it was impossible to try and overtake him. But I’m happy because it was a good race for me, and for Ducati."

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Dani Pedrosa  had a tough race day at Misano, after a weekend of good pace leading up to race day.

With good weather for practice but then a huge turnaround on Sunday as it rained consistently throughout the races, Pedrosa was left struggling for rear grip and says the conditions were like riding on ice.

As the track began to dry slightly at the end, the tyre came up to temperature and the Spaniard was four seconds quicker.

But without many laps left, the three-time Champion was forced to leave Misano with just a couple of points.

"I had the same problem as Assen when it was raining, when I didn’t have enough temperature in the rear tyre." Said the Spaniard

"It was like ice for me, I crashed in Warm Up but there was no way to get temperature in it. I didn’t arrive at the minimum temperature and I was super slow."

"I tried to survive and just at the end of the race as the rain stopped and the track got a little bit drier, the tyre got up to temperature and I could drop four seconds…" He adeed

"Unfortunately that was the day, we lost so many points, and we now have to focus on the next race and try to achieve a good result"

source: motogp.com

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As the World Superbike World Championship paddock warms up for the tenth round of the season, this week holds even more importance for Michael van der Mark, as it was announced today that he is set to replace Valentino Rossi in MotoGP.

The Italian Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team rider broke his leg two weeks ago following an enduro training crash, and his team chose not to replace Rossi at his home race of Misano this weekend.

However they have now called upon Van der Mark to swing his leg over the M1 in two weeks time, around MotorLand Aragon.

With Rossi not able to be fit enough to make his comeback around the Spanish circuit, the team have decided to give Van der Mark his MotoGP debut at a circuit he is familiar with and has performed well around in the past.

Van der Mark is understandably elated with the news: “I'm excited to be given the opportunity to ride the YZR-M1 at the Aragón MotoGP round. I‘ve never ridden a MotoGP bike before, so this will be a completely new experience for me."

"I‘m very curious to see what it feels like to ride on such a machine. I realise that it won‘t be easy going straight into an official practice session without any prior testing."

"Nevertheless, I‘m very grateful to Yamaha for the opportunity. I‘m sure it will be a great learning experience." He cocluded

Lin Jarvis, managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing said: “Following Valentino‘s crash on Thursday, August 31st, Yamaha decided not to replace him at the San Marino Grand Prix, but for the next Grand Prix in Aragón the team is obliged to enter two riders."

"It being virtually impossible for Valentino to be fit to race in Aragón, Yamaha decided to search for a capable replacement from within its own pool of contracted riders."

"Having previously used Katsuyuki Nakasuga to fill in for Jorge Lorenzo in 2011 and Alex Lowes to replace Bradley Smith in 2016, we decided that Michael van der Mark should have the opportunity this time around. It is never easy to step in to replace another rider and even more difficult to replace Valentino Rossi, but we believe that Michael has all the credentials and experience to do a good job." He added

"We will give him our very best support and wish him every success for this exciting opportunity. We also hope that Valentino will continue to make a rapid recovery and that we will see him again, back on his YZR-M1, on the earliest possible occasion."

 

         

 

 

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