Misano MotoGP: Casey Stoner critical of bumpy Misano

MotoGP world championship leader Casey Stoner has criticised the Misano circuit on
the eve of this weekend’s San Marino MotoGP.

Stoner goes into Sunday’s 28-lap race holding a commanding 60-point lead over Valentino Rossi, but has slammed the Misano track, which hosts a MotoGP race for the first time since 1993.

Stoner completed two demonstration laps earlier this year at the World Ducati Weekend and he said: “I did two laps on the Ducati test bike and my brains nearly got rattled out through my head.”

The 21-year-old Australian reckons the Misano circuit is much bumpier than Laguna Seca and he added:

“It’s not really a Grand Prix track and the right hand corner coming off the back straight is fast, perhaps a little too fast. I think it needs to be improved because it’s very bumpy. So it’s going to be pretty loose on these bikes. The track is a lot bumpier than Laguna Seca. There are a lot of long corners with a lot of pressure on the front tyre.”

Stoner’s fears about the bumps were confirmed today when he completed laps on his paddock scooter and added: “I still felt quite a lot of bumps on the circuit. We’ll have to see how the MotoGP bikes handle that.”