“It’s quite exciting going to a new track and it’s definitely going to be a challenge. A couple of years ago there were a few new venues on the calendar but it’s been a while since we’ve been to a new one.

I’m looking forward to it because it’s a challenge for the riders and the teams to try to get a set-up and a direction as quickly as possible. Basically none of us knows the track – a few of the Italian riders have checked if for safety but no one’s ridden a MotoGP bike here.

I’m expecting a big weekend. I’ve heard the atmosphere at Misano is quite wild and it’s right in the Italian riders’ neck of the woods so it should be an exciting event.

One of the major factors is going to be tyres again. We’ve seen this year that when we’ve gone to tracks with a new surface – like Sachsenring or Laguna Seca – it all came down to tyres. Hopefully we can get a good early direction with Michelin, get rolling quickly on Friday morning and see what happens when the lights go out on Sunday.”