Simón still comfortably ahead in 125cc title race

None of the riders currently competing in the 125cc class have previously won a Grand Prix at the Misano circuit, but on the basis of his 2009 form so far Julián Simón will be the favourite for a win on Sunday – with the likes of Nico Terol and Bradley Smith also likely to have a say in proceedings.

A dramatic last lap at Indianapolis saw five riders competing for glory, with a maiden Grand Prix victory ultimately seized by Spanish youngster Pol Espargaró and with Simón ending up at the back of that quintet. The result will not overly trouble Simón, however, as he still enjoys a 52.5 point advantage at the head of the standings.

Simón has of course been racing in the 250cc class for the past two years, and his Misano results were tenth in 2007 for Honda and fifth last year on a KTM.

Like Simón, Terol also lost out in the final stages at The Brickyard, crossing the line fourth after leading for much of the race. That result kept him second in the classification, with a one point lead over Englishman Smith.

Bancaja Aspar rider Smith finished second last year at Misano which equaled his best result of 2008 and was also the position in which he finished the race at Indianapolis on Sunday, a tenth of a second behind the victorious Espargaró.

In fourth place overall is Simón and Smith’s team-mate Sergio Gadea, who was a disappointing 15th at Indy, whilst in fifth place in the points table sits the frustratingly inconsistent Andrea Iannone who crashed out in the States having been on the podium two weeks earlier at Brno. The Italian will hope to be on his best form as he visits Rimini from his native Abruzzo.

Indianapolis victor Espargaró now occupies sixth place in the championship and is set to make his 50th Grand Prix start on Sunday.