Nicky Hayden has only finished one of the four San Marino Grands Prix since 2007 - and hasn't got around the first corners unscathed for the past two years.
The American finished 13th after being forced through the gravel at the start of the 2007 race, withdrew from the 2008 event due to injury, was taken out by Alex de Angelis at the first turn in 2009, then clashed with Loris Capirossi at the same corner in 2010!
Hayden arrives at round 13 of the 2011 season fresh from a disappointing home race at Indianapolis, which saw him drop down the order to 14th and last with front tyre problems.
“Indy was a bad race, but some how, some way, you've got to try to get over it and move on," said the Ducati rider. "Misano has been a tough track for me, because it seems like I can't ever get through the first corner. It would be nice to catch a bit of a break, because I don't feel like we're always getting the results we deserve.
"We learned a lot about the new bike in Indy, so I hope we've got a good starting point there. We'll see what the weather's going to do. Hopefully it won't be too hot, as that makes things more difficult for us. Anyway, we need to do our best and try to improve our bike.”
Misano will be Ducati's second and final home round of the season. Like Valentino Rossi, team manager Vittoriano Guareschi has warned it could be another tough weekend for the Italian team.
“Misano is a round that means a lot to all of us, and it's the home race for Valentino. We'll have many fans there, and we'd like to put both Vale and Nicky in position to get good results," he began.
"Naturally, we'll try our best, as we do at every race weekend, although we know that the type of work we're doing on the bike pays off over the long term.
"It's definitely a difficult moment for us because the results aren't what we'd like, but it's very gratifying to see the great effort and determination from our riders, the team and everyone at Ducati."
