Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) continued his superb form at the Lausitzring two weeks ago with his fifth double win of the year and his eleventh victory out of fourteen races held so far. “We’re past the half-way point in the championship now and Lausitzring turned out really well, so it’s a nice feeling to be here at Misano with good results behind me” commented Troy. “It’s going to be a bit of a change this weekend with the heat, so that is going to make things tough. Last year I had a first and second, but I’m sure my main rivals will go well. I have to keep an eye on Colin as always, and if he comes fifteenth, I have to come fourteenth! But seriously speaking I have to put as many people between me and him as possible. I love winning races and I’ll certainly be trying to extend my win total this weekend, but if I can’t then I’ll take the best result I can get.”

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) will be looking to extend his current run of form, which saw him take two excellent third places in Germany after challenging his team-mate Bayliss for the lead at one point. “I always want to win but it’s not only up to me. Everyone is coming here to win but for sure Misano is not the perfect track for me” declared Ruben. “The weather will be great and I’ll give 100% like I did in Germany so if I get a good result it will be perfect. The track is OK but the asphalt is old and quite bad, but it’s the same for everyone. I’ll try to be in the top positions and get as many points as possible to get closer to Hodgson and have a good chance for the last races and try to win there.”

Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) won one race at Misano Adriatico last year, which was the start of his successful mid-season winning streak, and the 28-year-old Californian is convinced he can be up amongst the front-runners again this year. “I believe we can, that’s why we’re here. Ever since Monza when we put the bike back to the way it should have been at the start of the season, we’ve been pretty quick but we can’t seem to win one of these races. I’m gonna push 110% here, we’ve been quick in the past on this track so hopefully this will be the first win of the season. It’s not one of my favourite tracks. I don’t mind the heat, I just don’t care for the track layout which makes the gearing on my Ducati difficult in some of the corners. If I can’t get the gearing right, then I don’t like the track, but if we get a good tyre, then I’m sure we can win.”

Misano Adriatico was designed in 1969 and opened for motorsport activity in 1972. The circuit’s original length of 3.488 kms was increased to 4.060 kms in 1993 and the current circuit was completed with the addition of new pit garages, media centre and hospitality suites in 1997. Misano has hosted the San Marino round of the World Superbike Championship since 1991.