Casey Stoner has not won the 2011 MotoGP championship yet, but the Repsol rider is starting to build a substantial lead in the overall standings. With his win in Indianapolis last weekend, his 7th this season, Stoner now leads the series by 44 points.
Stoner has won three consecutive races and now heads to Misano where he took a victory in 2007. But the Misano circuit hasn't been too kind to Stoner as of late. Stoner crashed out of the 2008 race, was injured in 2009, and finished fifth in 2010.
"I'm looking forward to going to San Marino and seeing how competitive we can be," said Stoner. "In 2007 and 2008 we were fast there, then I missed 2009 and last year we struggled a little so we've had a mixed bag of results. It's a nice track, I like the two corners off the end of the back straight, they're a lot of fun and very fast. I know Dani and Jorge will be very fast there, but I'm coming off the back of three wins and in a strong position in the Championship so we'll see what we can do and I'm confident we can get a good result."
There are 6 races left in the 2011 MotoGP season, and with stiff competition from teammate Dani Pedrosa and 2010 champion Jorge Lorenzo, Stoner is still along way away from claiming the 2011 title.
Pedrosa will likely be Stoner's biggest competition this weekend. Pedrosa had a dominating win from the pole position in 2010 at Misano.
"After the good race we had at Indy, we arrive at Misano in a very positive mood," Pedrosa said. "The circuit is so different compared to Indy, but last year we had a very good race there and we will try to repeat this. We must be a little stronger on Saturday and prepare for the race the best we can. Misano is a track where you need good acceleration and hard braking, so this will be our priority to start working on with the bike setting. After the success in America, it's good to head directly to Misano. I hope we can continue working well with the team and take another step forward."
Andrea Dovizioso will also give Stoner a run for his money this weekend. Dovizioso narrowly missed the podium the last two years at Misano, with two fourth place finishes, so he'll be determined to step up on the box this weekend.
"We are third in the Championship and this is the important point," Dovizioso said. "We will continue fighting and we will give our best every race weekend, because we believe that second position in the World Championship is not impossible. Last year in Misano I finished fourth behind Valentino. This year we want to take the next step and get the podium spot. I'm sure that with the experience gained this year, we can be strong at Misano. I don't live far from Misano and after the podium finish in Mugello I would love to have another good result in front of the Italian crowd."
