EXCITING CONTENT
Built in the 1970 , first used in earnest in 1972 , and running in the opposite direction to the one we use today right up until 2007 , Misano has even hosted floodlit race at night . Why ? To attract in the locals and tourists from the nearby holiday resorts of Misano , Misano Brasile , Cattolica , Riccione and so on all the way up and down the east coast to see these new American-inspired things called ‘ Superbikes ’ in a family friendly way . Located so close to the epicentre of all things motoring and motorsport in that Emilia-Romagna heartland of internal combustion , Misano is unlike most other Italian circuits in being basically flat . The only other really flat one is Monza , and that is where the similarity ends between the hyper speed expressway in the old royal park and the more compact , technical – and yet endlessly exciting – compact cauldron of Misano . Now run in the opposite direction from its original design , and with several layout changes and extensions over the years , Misano works just as well as a race venue it every did . Arguably better than the old direction , because there are many overtaking opportunities all round . From the hyper-fast entry to the Curvone to the hairpin at Curva Del Carro , the brave can risk their fate and fortunes in every kind of corner . After a period whereby Misano looks like it may have fallen by the wayside all together , certainly for international competition of the highest class , the track was re-invented and now both MotoGP™ and WorldSBK , plus the national CIV championship , breathe in saltwater mist as they bring the highest levels of bike racing competition to town for what many still call , ‘ a Holiday Race .’
Even world champions with disposable incomes arrive early sometimes , to park up in the campgrounds and sample the sun and seafood on offer at one of Italy ’ s favourite vacation spots . The racing is often brilliant , and a place of firsts for some . None other than Jonathan Rea has taken a first career WorldSBK race win at Misano , in his 2009 rookie season . 100-odd race victories later , he ’ s still winning , and an avowed enthusiast for the Misano race weekend . A fan of the track , the cuisine , the fans – the whole atmosphere of racing this close to the sea and the sunworshippers . As far as Italian race winners go , Misano is up there with the best for the local fans to remember . Just think of the emotions that accompanied Giancarlo Falappa scoring an all-action double in the second ever Misano event , in 1993 . Who can ever forget Mauro Lucchiari making WorldSBK legend Carl Fogarty look pedestrian as he scored a famous double in 1995 . He was never to win another WorldSBK race , but two in Misano nearly took off the roof off the Curva del Carro grandstand . Pierfrancesco Chili , with his race wins in 1997 and 2004 . Max Biaggi has won four Misano races , Marco Melandri the most recent Italian winner , for Ducati in 2017 . The irony is that Misano originally only came about because bike racing out in the streets stopped in the local area . In the post war years , almost the entire Misano coast hosted international race meetings in all the little towns , until racing on the streets in the ‘ Moto Temporada ’ series was deemed too unsafe .
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