RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP returns to Misano for start of first ‘triple header’

This weekend, the fourteenth Grand Prix of 2024 will be held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The Italian circuit, located on the Adriatic coast, will be the venue once again before the entire MotoGP paddock leaves for Asia for a series of overseas Grand Prix weekends.

The weekend where initially the Indian Grand Prix and later the Kazakhstan Grand Prix were due to take place, will finally see the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix taking its place on the calendar. It will once again take place at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the 4.23-kilometre circuit that is familiar territory for everyone.

It is the start of a very busy period with three Grand Prix weekends in a row and seven Grand Prix weekends in nine weeks. After the upcoming race weekend in Misano, the MotoGP paddock will immediately travel to Indonesia before racing in Japan a week later. Having left Misano a fortnight ago without points, the goal for both Barry Baltus and Zonta van den Goorbergh will be one of scoring points again to start the upcoming busy period on a good note.

Barry Baltus: “This second race weekend at Misano will be another opportunity for me to score some points. The first race weekend was not bad but it didn’t go as we would have wanted. We weren’t strong on Friday and Saturday which compromised our Sunday so this weekend we’ll have to be ready from the first practice session. The weather forecast looks a bit uncertain so we might get some rain, so we need to adapt to the circumstances. I feel ready to have a good weekend before we start the overseas trip.”

Zonta van den Goorbergh: “After a difficult race weekend in Misano, we now return to the same track. However, it looks like it will be a different kind of weekend because of the weather conditions. We will have to make a step up from the previous race weekend and hopefully we can soon solve the problems we faced during the race. It will be very important to get a good result here before we are on the road for seven weeks for the overseas races.”

Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager: “We are ready for the second race weekend in Misano. Of course, it remains strange to return to the same circuit now when we have only just raced there. From the other side it can also be positive for us, and we can use the data from last weekend to be in a better position now. We will have to be fast straightaway on Friday so that we can be better prepared on Sunday. The previous race weekend in Misano was pretty tough and in the end we were unable to score any points, so we need to show that we learned from that and do better this weekend. Also, it seems like the changeable weather conditions are going to play a role so we’ll see how it goes.”

The race weekend at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli starts with free practice on Friday morning after which the first official practice session will be held in the afternoon. Then the second official practice session will take place on Saturday morning after which it will be clear which riders will have to take part in Q1 or Q2. Qualifying starts at 13:45 on Saturday afternoon, with the 22-lap race starting as early as 11:15 on Sunday afternoon. This is an hour earlier than usual.