Leon Camier has plenty of experience at Misano. The Red Bull Honda WorldSBK star has ridden at the Italian circuit in Grand Prix and also on a Superbike.
He’s spent time learning the nuances of the Rimini venue, and over that time he’s found out one thing: patience is key.
“Misano is a tricky circuit, but it’s got some interesting quirks,” Leon Camier told us. “The opening sector of the lap is very challenging because if you make a mistake in Turn 1, it affects you for the whole sector.”
“Turn 1 to Turn 4 is connected, and your speed at the apex of the first corner is the key. You have to carry so much speed through the opening corner, but that makes it very easy to run wide and lose time.”
“You have to make sure to get the bike stopped at Turn 1, but you still need to carry massive speed through the corner while not running wide because you need to be in the right place for the entry to Turn 2.”
“Carrying so much speed through that corner is exciting, but it’s also so easy to overcook it. You have to turn the bike on the edge of the tire, after you’ve let off the brake, so it’s easy to be too hot into that corner,” continued Camier.
“Having a good line through Turn 2, second gear is very important because you carry that speed all the way through to Turn 4. You take a short-shift for Turn 3, and carry that speed to Turn 4.”
Turn 4 is a challenge in itself, but like the opening corner of the lap, this slow right-hander sets the scene for what follows. Carry too much speed and you run wide to the kerb and lose momentum and track position.
“This is very difficult because you know you need to be fast through Turn 4, but it’s tough because it’s so hard to get it right, and it’s so easy to run in too fast or too slow because it’s so tight.”
“I’ve had crashes at Turn 4 when I’ve gone in carrying less speed and less brakes, and still crashed! It’s very technical corner and a real challenge, but it’s important to get right because you need to exit it well to set up Turns 5 and 6.”
“You can’t drift wide on Turn 5 because you need to be in the right place for exiting Turn 6, and getting on to the back straight where you’ll come up to fifth before the slow Turn 8, which is all the way back to first gear.”
“From this point of the lap, the exit of Turn 10, The Tramonto is key, this double-right leads onto the back straight, and carrying that exit speed all the way down the straight that follows is crucial. It’s fast, it’s flowing and it’s a huge challenge to be exact.”
“The rights in the middle of the lap are so fast, and it’s a proper scary section of the track! You’re fifth gear and flat out on the entry to the first part at Turn 11.”
“You close the throttle, and immediately you’re back on the gas. It’s the fastest part of the track, and last year on the MV I was flat out through here and turning the bike on the rear to get it into the corner.”
“There’s not much time to be gained by being full gas through here, but I wanted to be ballsy and do it! I think that it’s quicker to be flat through there, but in a race, with traffic there, you definitely can’t do that!”
“The right-handers that follow are tough to get correct, and Turn 12 is very hard because the track is quite flat here, and you’re back shifting through here to get back to third gear.”
“Into Turn 13, you’re braking on the angle and going back to first gear for it, and then into Turn 14 which is so slow. You’re asking so much of the front through this section.”
“Turn 14 is so slippery, and it’s so easy to lose the front through there and crash. Turn 15 is awkward and bumpy, but it’s the final corner that’s worst.”
“The bike always chatters through 16, and I don’t know why, but it always jutters through this corner, and when you let off the brake and tap the gas it’s very easy to lose the front-end through here. Misano is filled with tricky parts, but nothing is too extreme around here.”
Photo/Graphic: WorldSBK
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