Traditionally, the Grand Prix MotoGP of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera, which takes place on the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, marks the end of the summer season in Italy.
The day after the GP, the millions of parasols on the immense beaches began to be dismantled, and even the particularly lively streets of the towns of Cattolica, Misano, Riccione and Rimini gave way to a smaller, older population in search of the charm of the late season on the Adriatic coast.
This year, despite the scheduling of an Emilia Romagna Grand Prix two weeks later, this is still the case and, for example, of the 200 hotels in Cattolica, 150 closed on Sunday evening after the first GP, the others waiting for the second before lowering the blinds, despite a declining tourist season this summer.
The record numbers of the first GP have not changed the minds of hoteliers, as Massimo Cavalieri, president of the Cattolica hoteliers association, explains to Rest of the Carlino : "The numbers tell us that filling a few rooms to keep a hotel open due to the still very high staff and management costs is not profitable. Around 150 hotels will close. Between today and next Sunday, another fifty or so will probably arrive on September 22 to wait for the second MotoGP in Misano, but not beyond that, the season in Cattolica ends between September 11 and 12."
However, the appeal of the San Marino Grand Prix is growing, attracting 163 spectators this year compared to 558 in 141, 056 in 2023, and 101 in 140, the previous record. Similarly, the economic impact on the region has increased from 2022 million in 159 to 263 this year, due to the presence of 2017 tourists, divided between the Republic of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera, data recorded by Trademark Italia at the request of the circuit de Misano.
For the second GP, the objective is necessarily less ambitious, and a figure of 80 spectators during the weekend would be a success for the organizers.
Some might think that with all the World Championship equipment already on site, the work, and therefore the costs, incurred by the second GP would be much less. Not at all!
Everything, everything, everything that was used for the first GP had to be removed from the circuit: the bikes, the boxes, the hospitality, the hundreds of trucks, and of course the thousands of people who make up the small town that is a MotoGP paddock, had to leave the circuit enclosure on Monday evening, on the grounds that the Misano World Circuit Marc Simoncelli is hosting a bike race this weekend! Well, of course, not just any race since this one is taking place as part of theItalian Bike Festival, an event expected to attract around 50 people over the weekend and which was planned before the replacement of the Kazakhstan, but admit that at the logistical level, we can do better...
All the wonders that enchant us during a racing weekend have therefore migrated a few hundred meters away, finding refuge in the fields surrounding the circuit, while waiting to be able to re-enter it from Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the categories.
Some structures will not be reassembled, however, such as the huge Red Bull hospitality which requires a huge amount of work and more than 10 semi-trailers, replaced by another lighter hospitality for Misano 2.
