Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Franco Morbidelli and Thomas Lüthi turn their attention to the tight and twisty Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for round 13 of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship this weekend

Franco Morbidelli is hoping the passionate support of his home crowd will provide the inspiration for a strong performance when the Italian star tackles familiar territory in Misano this weekend.

The 4.2km track located a short distance from the Adriatic coast is Morbidelli’s home venue and he uses the circuit close to Rimini as a training base throughout the year.

And the 2017 Moto2 World Champion is determined to make home advantage count as he looks to deliver a maiden MotoGP top 10 finish on a track where he made his GP debut back in 2013.

Following the cancellation of the previous round in Silverstone when heavy and constant rain meant track conditions were declared unsafe, Thomas Lüthi can’t wait to be back on board his Honda RC213V machine in hopefully more favourable weather this weekend.

Lüthi was a leading protagonist in a rain-hit Moto2 race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli last year after Morbidelli crashed out of contention on lap four while leading on a slippery surface.

Lüthi finished second behind Dominique Aegerter but was subsequently awarded the victory when his fellow Swiss rider was disqualified for a technical infringement.

The MotoGP action gets underway on Friday with the opening 45-minute practice session starting at 955am local time. The 27-lap race is due to start at 2pm local time on Sunday afternoon.

Franco Morbidelli: 17th in the overall standings on 22-points

“I will give my best for all the fans coming”

“I’m really looking forward to Misano because it is my home track and one that I know very well. I’ve already been there testing with the MotoGP bike as well, so that should be a positive because we have already collected some important data and gained some experience of the track with the Honda package. I will give my best to secure the best result possible for all the fans coming and hopefully it will be a strong weekend.”

Thomas Lüthi: 24th in the overall standings

“The recent test in Misano was an interesting session”

“Misano is a track I like and after the difficult situation with the weather in Silverstone I’m hoping we get the chance to have a full weekend without any disruptions. I tested in Misano recently and while it was only for one day it was an interesting session and it means I go into this weekend with some experience of the track on a MotoGP bike. Hopefully having some information about the set-up will help if we get similar conditions because it was very hot at the test.”

Track facts / Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli (Misano Adriatico, Italy)

Length: 2.626 miles

Width: 45.93 ft.

Corners: 6 (left) + 10 (right)

Longest straight: 1738.85 ft.

MotoGP Race: 27 laps (71.0 miles)

Best pole: Jorge Lorenzo (1:31.868 – 2016)

Circuit record: Dani Pedrosa (1:32.979 – 2016)

Top speed: Andrea Dovizioso (185.7 mph – 2015)

2017 race winner: Marc Marquez (50:41.565)