The circuit's initial length was 3.488 km (2.167 mi) and it featured only a small, open pit area. This original configuration hosted three editions of the San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix, from 1985 to 1987.
In 1993 the track was modified for the first time: length was increased to 4.060 km (2.523 mi), with provision to run both a long and the original short loop. New facilities and pit garages were built. It was at Misano during the 1993 Italian Grand Prix that defending 500 cc World Champion Wayne Rainey's career ended after he fell and suffered a broken spine. Between 1996 and 2001 facilities were further improved with more pits and stands. In 2005 a new access road, Via Daijiro Kato, was built in honour of the Japanese rider killed during the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, whose in-season race home was in the Portoverde frazione of Misano Adriatico.
To host the World motorcycle championship again, the circuit was extensively modified in 2006: direction was changed to clockwise, length was increased to 4.180 km (2.597 mi), track width was widened to 14 m, and security measures were overhauled. The first MotoGP race on the modified circuit was the 2007 San Marino and Rimini Riviera motorcycle Grand Prix, won by Ducati.
During the 2010 Moto2 event, Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa was killed after losing control of his bike and being struck by both Scott Redding and Alex de Angelis. This incident occurred 17 years to the day of Wayne Rainey's career-ending crash at the same circuit.
On 3 November 2011, the circuit owners announced the track would be renamed after Marco Simoncelli, an Italian motorcyclist who died during the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang the week prior. Simoncelli was born in nearby Cattolica and had lived from childhood in Coriano. On 8 June 2012 the new name was confirmed at the San Marino round of the Superbike World Championship.
Current annual events at the circuit include the San Marino and Rimini Riviera motorcycle Grand Prix (September), the Superbike World Championship and Supersport World Championship (June), the GT World Challenge Europe (July), and supporting series across motorcycle and car racing from April through November.
Former events hosted at Misano include the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2018–2019), the FIA Formula E World Championship Misano ePrix (2024), the European Formula Two Championship (1973, 1975–1984), the Italian motorcycle Grand Prix (various years 1980–1993), the World Sportscar Championship (1978), the FIM Endurance World Championship (1977–1978, 1980), and the Sidecar World Championship (1990–1991, 1999–2003), among many others.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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