Moto2 World Championship leader Franco Morbidelli can count on the support of a vocal home crowd this weekend, as Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS head to Misano for the Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera Di Rimini.

Morbidelli, who sits atop the Moto2 championship standings with a 29-point advantage over Tom Lüthi, lives less than 20km from the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. So strong is the support for the local hero that one entire grandstand has been reserved for Morbidelli's fans this weekend.

And the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider heads home to Misano with clear goals; to race for his eighth win of the season and to give his fans something to cheer about on Sunday afternoon.

But Morbidelli may not have things all his own way this weekend. Two riders in particular would love to strike a psychological blow and beat the Italian in his own backyard.

The first is Tom Lüthi, Morbidelli's closest rival in the championship chase, while the second is the Italian's Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS teammate Álex Márquez, who currently lies third in the championship standings and heads to Misano keen to make amends for crashing out of the British Grand Prix two weeks ago while leading the race.

Franco Morbidelli:
“Now we head to Misano and it will be important to be fast there in front of my home crowd. There will be a lot of people there I know and we even have a special grandstand for this weekend, so I want to go there and win. A home race is always a different race, a race where you not only have to give a little bit more but it's expected of you by the home crowd. I've been waiting for this weekend since January and I would love to make a great race at home in Misano.”

Álex Márquez:
“Silverstone was a great weekend, right up until the point I crashed out of the lead, which definitely wasn't in the plan! Now we head to Misano, where I've maybe struggled a bit more than normal in the past, but we go there this year in a different position entirely. I go to Italy completely motivated to fight once again at the front, as we did last time out at Silverstone. To win the championship is nearly impossible for me now, so I don't have to worry about Franco Morbidelli or Tom Lüthi, I just need to push to try and win as many of the remaining races as I can, starting this weekend in Misano.”