We can usually be found at many of the UK motorcycle events, including the Donington MotoGP, but this year we packed our bags up and flew out to Italy to experience the Misano MotoGP. We stayed in Cattolica and can totally recommend it as a base if anyone is thinking of going in the future – its really close to the track and the town puts on a free shuttle bus that runs every 20 mins or so to ferry fans to and from the track. Speaking to the locals about how far the track was gives results ranging from 2kms to 7kms – we thought about walking it on qualifying day but decided to jump on the bus. And I’m glad we did – the track was probably closer to 7kms away, and we saw no end to the line of egg-shaped men waddling and puffing along the roadside trying to walk it in the burning heat (overheard: “Its the same fuckin’ sun as you get in England, whats the big issue?”).

We caught the qualyfing in Prato 1, which gives fantastic views of the straight and the fast right-hander, and for race day we had grandstand seats that were pretty much opposite the famous Ducati stand. It was an incredible experience and it was the fans that made it extra special - noisy, passionate, crazy.

Some quick highlights and lowlights:

Highlights:

• Seeing BBC’s Suzie Perry on the same plane going over
• Seeing BBC’s Matt Roberts in Cattolica going out for Pizza
• Eating in the same restaurant as some Team Fiat Yamaha technicians in Cattolica on Sunday night
• The fans
• The noise
• The insane 250 race

Lowlights:

• Sunburn
• Possibly sighting BBCs Charlie Cox walking around the track (not sure, he was far away)

Misano Photos (click to enlarge)

(quality disclaimer: taken on my camera phone)

 Rossi helmet hairstyle

Great views from Prato 1 – John Hopkins in Free Practice

 Casey Stoner Qualifying

 Alex De Angelis and James Toseland qualifying

Rossi

Nicky Hayden and Jorge Lorenzo: MotoGP Misano qualifying

Crowd reaction when Casey Stoner crashed

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