Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi are going to make things extremely difficult on their competition in the coming rounds.
Jorge Lorenzo and the rest of the
MotoGP paddock get ready for the second-half of the season this weekend Brno. Taking his first ever win a Laguna Seca two weeks ago, Fiat
Yamaha’s Lorenzo maintains a 72-point lead ahead of Repsol
Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi, is also expected to be in strong form after taking some much needed rest for his delicate leg, broken earlier this year at Mugello. Though Lorenzo enjoys a large lead, with nine more rounds remaining the title is still up for grabs.
Lorenzo has proven the strongest competitor this season in terms of sheer winning ability. He’s won a grand total of six out of nine races this season and never finished lower than second. The Mallorcan heads to the Czech Republic in a terrific mind frame after clenching the victory at
Laguna Seca. The Spaniard has spent the last two weeks training in the Dominican Republic, and he’s eager to get back in the saddle of his Yamaha M1. Lorenzo has three wins credited to his name at the Brno circuit – one in 125cc, and two in 250cc. Despite his success in the smaller classes at Brno Lorenzo has yet to win a MotoGP event there, with his last visit resulting in a race-ending crash while battling against Rossi.
“We are going to Brno, a track I like and where I've won three times, but never in MotoGP,” said Lorenzo. “I haven't even got a podium here and this is my challenge, my first podium in the
Valentino Rossi is expected to return in strong form at Brno after having two full weeks to recover and rest from his injuries.
second part of the season and in Brno. Czech Republic is a nice country, with amazing people at the race and also the track is impressive, fast and with some good hills. After the race I will stay in Brno to try something new on the bike, something to improve our bike until the end of championship. Good place to restart!"
Rossi will also be out in full force this weekend at Brno, a place where he collected the first of 104 GP wins way back in the 125cc class. Rossi has amassed an additional five wins in MotoGP at Brno, winning there the past two seasons. Only seven weeks out from having surgery to repair his broken leg Rossi took a podium finish at Laguna Seca, even though he wasn’t anywhere close to peak fitness. After having more time to heal the Italian may be back in fighting shape, and capable of posing a real challenge to his Yamaha teammate.
"I've had a good break and it's helped me a lot to have this time to work on my physical condition,” said Rossi. “I'm feeling good about my leg and my shoulder, and I hope that this weekend I'll be feeling much stronger. Brno is a great track for me and it's always special because it's the first place I ever won at. Last year I had a great race, this year will be harder because I'm not completely fit yet, but I am looking forward to getting back on the bike. We have half the season still to go and our aim is to have a good second half!"
Repsol rider Dani Pedrosa represents Honda's best chance at the title this year with him second in the championship.
Leading Repsol Honda’s charge against the relentless onslaught of the Fiat Yamaha team is duo
Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso. Following his upsetting crash at Laguna Seca while leading, Pedrosa is anxious to get back up and running in the series. The Honda rider looked fully capable of winning the first USGP of 2010 until he slid out of the lead, handing it over to his rival Lorenzo. The result of his accident left Pedrosa 72 points behind in the championship and, although there are still nine races left, his chances of winning are now farther out of reach. In terms of history at Brno, Pedrosa looks competitive on paper with two race victories scored in 125cc and 250cc as well as two podiums in MotoGP during 2006 and 2009.
“This has definitely been one of my best summer breaks of the last few years,” Pedrosa said. “I did nothing special, but I had a great time with my friends, enjoyed a lot surfing on the beach and was able to think only about having fun and relaxing, rather than working to recover from an injury, as has been the case in the last few years. I’m really looking forward to getting back on the bike at Brno. It’s one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar; physically it’s very demanding, but it’s also very enjoyable to ride on a MotoGP bike. You have everything there: big elevation changes, very fast corners and also hard braking zones where stability is very important.”
Pedrosa’s teammate, Dovizioso, has yet to finish on the podium at Brno but approaches the contest in excellent shape after scoring four top-three finishes this season. In the most recent round at Laguna Seca, Dovizioso clenched fourth after a close battle with Rossi near the end of the event.
Andrea Dovizioso may still searching for his first podium at the Brno circuit, but he's been riding consistently this season with a total of four top-three finishes.
“We are very motivated for the next race at Brno and I’m confident that we can get a good result,” said Dovizioso. “Our target is to fight for second position in the championship, and so to do that we have to be up there battling for race wins every Sunday starting from this Grand Prix.”
The
Ducati Marlboro pair of
Casey Stoner and
Nicky Hayden will also look to pose strong threats after finishing second and fifth respectively at Laguna Seca. Stoner has had four podium finishes in the last four races. Meanwhile, Hayden has had some ups and downs this season but is optimistic of his performance at the Brno circuit.
“Brno is one of my favorite circuits,” said Stoner. “I have liked it since I raced there for the first time back in 2002. It’s long and flowing, with a lot of direction changes and plenty of opportunities to overtake. It is the kind of circuit that lends itself to spectacular races and I can’t wait to race there.”
American rider
Ben Spies of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 has had a model season so far as a rookie and is currently seventh in the overall standings. Having ridden at the Brno circuit in
World Superbike the Texan is at least facing a familiar track
American Ben Spies is only 13 points shy of fifth-place in the championship. Can he break into the top-five at Brno?
. With multiple finishes inside the top-five, including a third-place at
Silverstone, Spies remains only 12 points adrift of Hayden in the ’10 championship, and only 13 points away from Rossi who currently sits in fifth.
Moto2
After a four-week hiatus the Moto2 championship will resurface with Round 9 of the 2010 schedule. Championship leader Toni Elias is currently leading by 42 points and will return to the Czech Republic where he’s had strong results in the 125cc and 250cc class. In the last round at Germany Elias snared the victory, and with three wins already secured in the ’10 season he’s one of the strongest competitors in the championship.
“The win at Sachsenring ended a pretty bad run for us and I have got my confidence back with the bike,” Elias said. “The team has helped me a lot and I am more determined and motivated to do well now than ever. I allowed myself a little holiday
Moto2's Toni Elias leads the series by 42 points and won the most recent round at Sachsenring.
during the break and then focused on my training to make sure I don’t lose focus at what is a very important moment in my career. I have been on the podium at Brno for the last two years in MotoGP, and it’s a track that seems to suit my riding style.”
Interwetten Moriwaki’s Thomas Luthi retained second-place in the series despite falling in the previous round at Germany. Aside from the most recent DNF, Luthi has proven one of the most consistent riders in his class with four podium finishes out of the first eight events. Adding to this performance is the fact that much of it occurred under an injured collarbone which he sustain during motocross training shortly after Silverstone.
“I come back from the summer break and my holidays with new and necessary energy,” Luthi said. “I am fully recovered from my injury and I am completely fit again. I am looking forward to Brno as it is a fluent track which I like. I think we should be able to fight at the top again and be part of the front group.”
Andrea Iannone is the only Moto2 rider so far this season to pull ahead of the competition in a race, winning at Assen by more than four seconds.
Fimmco Speed Up’s Andrea Iannone may be third in the Moto2 championship but he’s been giving the frontrunners something to fear with his quick pace. Iannone has been the only rider who’s managed to pull ahead of the field by a significant margin, scoring a win at Assen by more than four seconds. He currently trails Luthi in the series by only four points.
“It was good to get a few weeks break, so we could recharge our batteries for the second half of the season,” Iannone said. “Our aim is to continue the way we were going in the first part of the season. We won at Assen and Mugello and we were leading at Catalunya when we got that ride-through penalty, so we just need to keep going as fast as we can, keep learning, maintain our consistency and increase our points score.”
