Lorenzo focused on podium stay

The Championship leader’s goal is further consolidation of his advantage in the standings at the Misano, as he bids to maintain his record of having stood on the podium in every race this season.

Misano presents a new challenge for Jorge Lorenzo as the Fiat Yamaha rider takes his 68-point Championship lead to the Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini and a circuit on which he has twice finished second in the premier class.

The Spaniard comes into the 12th round of the 2010 campaign having placed outside the top two for the first time this season in the previous race at the Indianapolis. Third place can hardly be considered a drop in standards however and the result maintained the 23 year-old’s comfortable lead at the summit of the standings.

In Misano Lorenzo faces a track on which he has a solid personal record. In the three races he has ridden there he has been on the podium each time; a 250cc win in 2007 and second in the premier class in the precious two seasons the results that mark a confidence-inspiring affinity with the San Marinese venue.

This weekend Lorenzo will aim to maintain his 100% podium record in the 2010 as he aims to further protect his advantage, and he said: "We are going straight to Misano and I want to continue in the same way and get on the podium again. I've been second there for the last two years and I am feeling very motivated and looking forward to another good race.”

After a particularly draining weekend in the heat at Indy Lorenzo is hoping for kinder conditions. “I hope the temperature is a bit cooler than in Indy because it was really too hot there,” he said. “Last Sunday was my worst result this year, but I am still happy because it was still third and because it was very important for our goal, which is the Championship."

Pedrosa targets victory

Dani Pedrosa is targeting victory in this weekend's Indianapolis MotoGP race as he seeks to banish the memory of his crash in the same event 12 months ago.

On that occasion, the Repsol Honda rider appeared in a class of his own at the Brickyard, topping the timesheets throughout practice and qualifying before taking an early lead in the race.

However, disaster struck Pedrosa when he pushed too hard, too quickly and came off his bike.

Although he has no realistic chance of overhauling the 77-point deficit to championship leader Jorge Lorenzo during the balance of the season, Pedrosa says he will be pushing for victory on Sunday nonetheless.

"I'm going to Indianapolis in a very good mood and I'm feeling ready to finish the job we weren't able to complete in the race there last time," said Pedrosa, who finished second behind Lorenzo in the Czech MotoGP a fortnight ago.

"I felt really comfortable riding in Indy last year. I was on top of the timesheets from the first practice, I took pole position and the only mistake I made was in the race. So I hope this time we can put together a strong weekend and take another good result.

"We were fast and consistent at the last race in Brno and we'll be aiming to get straight back on that pace again this weekend."
Risk avoidance

Fiat Yamaha rider Lorenzo is likely to prove the major obstacle standing between his fellow Spaniard and victory, however, having yet to finish a race this season outside the top two.

The 23-year-old inherited the win at Indianapolis last year and also finished top of the podium the last time MotoGP travelled Stateside to Laguna Seca a month ago. However, he acknowledged that he has no need to take unnecessary risks this weekend.

Lorenzo said: "This weekend will be the second race in this country in 2010 and I am looking forward to it because I would like to repeat the same result as I got in Laguna!

"I just have good memories from America, last month in Laguna and last year in Indy. Last year was amazing, but this time I don't need to take too many risks. We can avoid it!

"Indy is a track that I like a lot and it has amazing history. The team and I are planning to continue our great season there this weekend."

MotoGP Rewind: Brno

The best of the tenth round of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship – the Cardion ab Grand Prix Czech Republic – is all here in the latest free motogp.com video.

Review the action from Brno in the latest motogp.com Rewind instalment and witness once more Jorge Lorenzo’s seventh win of the season, as the attached video offers you a fantastic highlights package of the weekend’s most thrilling moments.

MotoGP Rewind reviews the action after every round of the MotoGP World Championship in the 2010 season.

De Puniet aiming for Brno return

Just 18 days on from the crash at the Sachsenring that fractured his left tibia and fibula the LCR Honda rider feels that ready to get back into action at the Brno.

The Frenchman underwent a successful two-hour operation to insert a titanium rod in his left leg on the Sunday evening of the German GP on July 18th, and then started with an intensive rehabilitation program to be fit in time for the Cardion ab Grand Prix Czech Republic on the August 15th.

Randy de Puniet

"Watching the first GP on the TV since I made my debut was a bit hard for me but in the meantime it was good for me to take some rest. A couple of days after the surgery I left the German hospital to begin the Hyperbaric Chamber sessions at the Saint Marguerite Hospital in the Marseilles under the supervision of Dr. Mathieu Coulange and his team. This machine increases both the pressure and the oxygen levels to help repair the tissues of the body at a faster rate. Then I moved to Cannes to pursue my rehabilitation. I underwent ultrasound sessions to strengthen my bones a little more. Last Monday I went back home to the Andorra to continue the ultrasound sessions with a domestic machine and I finally started to do some sport. Every day I go to the gym to cycle and I am training my upper body with the rubber bands and special exercises. The doctors are continually surprised with the speed with which I am recovering, and I have to admit that I am as surprised as they are! I am using my crutches less and less. I still hope to be back for the next Grand Prix, however the final decision will be made in Brno next Thursday when the circuit Doctor together with Doctor Costa will examine my leg and my overall physical condition.”

Dani Pedrosa’s 2010 season so far

The Repsol Honda rider has had the highs and lows packed into his first in nine races, with the nature of his better results hinting at his capacity to be the main challenger to the Jorge Lorenzo in the battle for this year’s title.

Dani Pedrosa’s steady progress towards a consistent results this season has placed the Spaniard second in the Championship standings at the halfway point in the season, where at 138 points he currently sits 72 off the leader Jorge Lorenzo. The first nine rounds have produced some of the fantastic results for the Repsol Honda rider who has so far stood on the podium five times, winning twice, and his finer outcomes have been accompanied by some are frustrations too.

The campaign got off to an indifferent start for the Pedrosa with seventh in the Qatar, where he battled with set-up issues that had carried over from pre-season. Undeterred however he remained focused and the following round at the Jerez produced a solid reward, as he took pole position and battled with Lorenzo for the victory before finishing second.

The inconsistency which was to prove Pedrosa’s main obstacle in the early part of the season meant that he would place in fifth at Le Mans as he lost out on a podium finish on the final lap in his 150th GP start. Another strong response came though and this time it was a victory, from the pole position, at Mugello as the intense work put in by the 24 year-old and his team paid off.

A difficult next round at the Silverstone followed where Pedrosa crashed in qualifying and placed eighth in the race, but a succession of the constant results that produced the continuity he had been striving for then poured forth. Second place at Assen from seventh on the grid and then second in his home race at Catalunya paved the way to a second win of the 2010 at Sachsenring, where Pedrosa won a fight with Lorenzo for victory.

The first half of the campaign was rounded off with a first DNF of the season as Pedrosa crashed out at Laguna Seca whilst leading the race, but he remained optimistic despite the setback as he aims to then continue harnessing the aspects of his performance that have delivered him tastes of victory already.

Jorge Lorenzo’s 2010 season so far

The Fiat Yamaha rider has had an almost flawless season at the halfway point of the 2010 campaign. Leader of the Championship the 23 year-old has been demonstrated a consistency in the first nine races that has made him the favourite for the title.

Smooth like butter, rhythmic like a hammer. This has been the mantra of the Jorge Lorenzo in 2010 – one even displayed on his brake levers – and it has been evident. The young Spaniard has been smooth and consistent in the nine rounds so far, taking six victories and then finishing second on the three occasions that a win has not been possible. Added to that five poles and 210 points from a possible 225 and Lorenzo’s season until now has been almost perfect.

The Fiat Yamaha rider has taken a huge step, not only in the quality of his riding but also in his approach to the races. Lorenzo has learned to read the races differently, knowing when to strike for victory when the circumstances permit but also being aware that second place on the occasions that his rivals have the upper hand is better than a fall.

Looking back to the start of the season makes Lorenzo’s achievements so far all the more impressive, given the fact he started the campaign still now carrying the effects of a pre-season training injury which meant he arrived in Qatar for round one far from being in his best physical shape. Second place under the floodlights was therefore a highly impressive outcome.

The following race at the Jerez saw the best of Lorenzo, as his hunger for a first premier class win on home soil saw him recover an advantage built up in the race by rival Dani Pedrosa to overcome his fellow Spaniard and win. After his first victory of the season Lorenzo used the one-day test to practice his starts, and it was paid off. Victory at the Le Mans in the next round followed (his first back-to-back premier class wins), before the second place at Mugello behind Pedrosa. There then he followed three consecutive wins: Silverstone, Assen and Catalunya. Second at Sachsenring was next as he accepted more the valuable points with Pedrosa winning, and a win at Laguna Seca completed a phenomenal first half of the season for the Mallorcan.

Valentino Rossi amazes with 'rehab' podium

Valentino Rossi returned to the MotoGP podium just seven weeks after breaking his leg, with a hard fought third place at the Laguna Seca on Sunday.

Fourth one week earlier after losing out to the Casey Stoner in the final turn of the German GP, Rossi found himself under a similar last-lap pressure for the third in America - but this time was able to fend-off a last corner attack by the Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.

Rossi had been sixth on the lap one, then spent much of the race holding off the Americans Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Ben Spies (Yamaha), before passing Dovizioso on lap 27 of 32. Dovizioso's team-mate Dani Pedrosa had crashed out of the lead on the lap twelve.

"The start of the race was very hard for me because I had a lot of the pain and I was far from the podium. But then I saw Pedrosa on the gravel and I just had to try to catch the Dovizioso!" revealed Rossi.

"I just pushed as hard as I could for a few laps and that has brought me closer to him and then I couldn't give up, somehow I caught him and it was a great feeling to pass him to take the third. It's a great result after my injury and it felt so good to be back on the podium in front of the fans.

"There are so many people I have to thank who have helped me to get back in to this position. I am very happy that we have some time off now because of that I have a lot of work to do on my body to try to be back to my best for the Brno, which I love," he concluded.

Brno, on August 15, had been the original target for the Rossi's return, but he then decided to try and ride at the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca to build up his speed.

"These were supposed to be the two 'rehabilitation' races for the Valentino after his big injury while he just got used to being back on the bike, but he has come to the fourth and then third which has amazed us all," said team manager Davide Brivio.

"This track was very demanding on his body and then he had a hard time all weekend but he was still able to battle for the podium. It was a brilliant and we're so happy now. Everyone is looking forward to a break but also to coming back then strongly in the second half of the season."

Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo won the race, with Ducati's Casey Stoner in second.

US MotoGP: ‘Big opportunity’ for Roger Lee Hayden

Home favourite Nicky Hayden reckons younger brother Roger Lee has a big opportunity to put himself in the shop window having landed a chance to ride the injured Randy de Puniet’s LCR Honda in the American MotoGP this weekend.

Roger Lee will replace de Puniet at Laguna Seca after the Frenchman suffered a double break to his left leg in a big crash during in last weekend’s German MotoGP at the Sachsenring.

And 2006 world champion Hayden is now hoping his younger sibling can showcase his talent in front of the MotoGP paddock.

He finished tenth on his previous MotoGP ride in the Laguna Seca back in 2008 when he rode a factory Kawasaki ZX-RR.

Speaking ahead of the American MotoGP race, Nicky said: “It is a big opportunity for him and a shame it kind of came then so rushed. Last time he got to test the Kawasaki and he was a little bit more prepared but he goes really good at the Laguna. He was ninth to the last corner when (Alex) Barros passed him and if you ask him he'll let you to know because he's correcting me all the time.

"The Honda's have improved a lot this season and they have made it very tougher, they are getting stronger every week, all of them. I have big expectations because he's my brother and maybe too much because it’s never easy to jump in at this level and on a short week. The Hondas are going good and have some upgrades from the factory and this is a track that Roger loves and I hope he puts on a good show."

Roger Lee currently rides for the Pedercini Kawasaki squad in the World Superbikes and will also compete in the next month's Moto2 race at Indianapolis in a Honda America effort headed by 1993 world 500cc champion Kevin Schwantz.

MotoGP Victory for Dani Pedrosa in Germany

DANI Pedrosa firmed his grip on the second in the World Championship standings with victory at Sachsen ring in the ENI Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland on Sunday, his second win of the season, as Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo took the second place and Casey Stoner third ahead of a courageous Valentino Rossi in his first race back after the injury.

The original race was red flagged on lap nine when a crash for Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) at turn four brought down both Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing), neither of whom could avoid the Frenchman’s bike which burst into the flames. The top five order at that stage was Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Rossi, and the trio involved in the accident were unable to line-up for the shortened 21-lap new race after failing to return to the Pit Lane with their bikes within the five minutes of the red flag. De Puniet was physically not able, having sustained with fractures in his left tibia and fibula in the incident.

After a 25-minute interval the new shortened version to began, and Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) slid out at turn one in an unfortunate end to his weekend. As he had done in the original race Pedrosa and got his nose in the front on the first lap, but Lorenzo quickly assumed the race lead – that would have change again however.

The top order was much the same as it had been in before the red flag, with the Lorenzo holding off Pedrosa, Stoner in the third, and Rossi and Dovizioso battling for the fourth. The reigning World Champion was in front of his Italian compatriot before too long, and the Repsol Honda man was caught by the chasing pack to shortly after.

The battle between the Lorenzo and Pedrosa was developing into a thriller with the two Spaniards swapping the lead as they constantly looked for ways through on one another, and Pedrosa was at his best as he set a new circuit lap record on the lap 10 and then again on 12, assuming the race lead and breaking his own record from the previous year and consistently riding in the low 1’22”s.

Rossi ‘growing stronger every day’

Valentino Rossi says he will only gets the faster as he looks ahead to the United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, less than a week after making a remarkable return to the MotoGP competition at the Sachsenring.

Rossi defied expectations by announcing his racing comeback from the injury a month earlier than originally mooted, but any fears he would take time to get up to the speed were eventually quashed by his run to fourth position in Germany.

Declaring that result as 'more than we [FIAT Yamaha] could have hoped for', Rossi now travels to Laguna Seca eager to build on that result and that continue his march back into full contention.

While it is a race that he has won just once since its return to the calendar in the 2005, Rossi's win in 2008 after an epic battle with the Casey Stoner will nonetheless go down in MotoGP folklore as one of his finest victories. Labelling the California circuit as 'fun', Rossi is looking forward to returning in this year.

"I was so happy to be back in the Sachsenring and to be fighting for the podium, even though I just missed out, was more than we could have hoped for. I still have some pain in my leg but I am growing stronger every day and I hope this week that I will be in a better shape once again and I can try to improve a little bit more.

“Laguna is different to anywhere else we go but it's always have great fun to ride there and the last two years I've had great races."

Stoner happy with German result after fight for third

The Ducati Team rider held off Valentino Rossi for the final podium spot at the Sachsenring to take his third top-three finish in the succession. Casey Stoner said that he felt the benefit of the race restart at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, where he took the third place after a red flag saw the Sachsenring contest run a shortened second race.

Randy de Puniet’s crash on lap nine halted the original race, and the 25-minute interval before a second 21-lap contest began the allowed Stoner and his Ducati team to change the rear tyre he was using, an alteration that the Australian said made a big difference.

“I thought it was going to affect us in a bad way but it was actually helped us slightly,” said Stoner of the restart. “In the first part of the race we had a new rear tyre that wasn’t producing the grip that the tyres had been in all weekend. I just wasn’t able to keep up with the lap times being set by the Dani and Jorge.”

“For the second part of the race we went back to a tyre we were using in qualifying yesterday so it already had laps on it, and immediately it felt better with the more grip and a better feeling in mid-turn. We were able to run a lot faster lap times, maybe three or four-tenths of a second consistently. I tried to chase the top two down but didn’t quite have the pace.”

“I saw Valentino coming and he had a much higher pace than me and I thought he would just take off if he got the past. So I tried to do everything I could to stay with him and when I got an opportunity to overtake him it and came down to the last two laps,” explained Stoner. “We had a few nice passes and I just had to go for it in the last corner, and it worked out. I’m pretty happy with the result, and we managed to pick up the points when we needed to.”

GP Aperol de Catalunya : The crashes and conditions of the riders

The Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya produced with a spectacular weekend of action in the 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP classes, with almost 90 riders present across the weekend. In total there were 46 crashes throughout the sessions and the races, with 26 of those on Sunday.

In the premier class Aleix Espargaró suffered disappointment in front of the home crowd of 80,000 as he failed to finish the race, and Andrea Dovizioso fell whilst trying to impose himself at the front of the race with Jorge Lorenzo. Neither were injured, and Marco Simoncelli also escaped unharmed from his own slip as he competed for the sixth place.

The Moto2 race was highly eventful and the drama started at Turn 1 where a huge nine-rider crash involved Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP), Sergio Gadea (Tenerife 40 Pons), Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans STR), Alex Debón (Team Aeroport de Castelló Ajo), Robertino Pietri (Italtrans STR), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP), Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar), Héctor Faubel (Marc VDS Racing) and Alex Baldolini (Caretta Technology Race Dept).

For Debón the crash came just a week after he had suffered from fractured collarbone at Assen. However, the news was encouraging for the Spanish rider who suffered no further damage to the right clavicle and left hand he injured last week. He will however remain under a observation until at least Tuesday due to the abdominal blow he received in the fall at Catalunya.

Andrea Dovizioso

Nationality	Italian
Date of birth	March 23, 1986
Place of birth	Forlì (Italy)
Website	andreadovizioso.com
Current team	Repsol Honda
Bike number	4
Championships	125cc – 2004
Race starts	140
Wins	10
Podium finishes	47
Pole positions	13
Fastest laps	12
Points	1638
2009 position	5th (133 pts)

Stoner: Impossible to pass Pedrosa

After running wide into turn one on lap six of Sunday's Catalan Grand Prix, Ducati's Casey Stoner spent most of the race trying to overtake the Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa.

Pedrosa had also run wide at turn one, at the very start of the race, and the battle between the rumoured 2011 team-mates was initially for the third position, which then became a fight for second when Andrea Dovizioso fell.

But Stoner simply couldn't find a way past, crossing the line 0.2sec behind Pedrosa to nonetheless claim his second podium in a row. Race winner Jorge Lorenzo was five seconds in the front.

"The mistake was my own fault. I got a bit too much speed down the main straight - I got a slipstream off both Jorge and Dovi - so I decided to just go with wide rather than risk losing the front and going into everyone," said Stoner, who had spent the opening laps battling for the lead.

"The bike didn't feel too good. We changed the set-up after warm-up and it was difficult to ride at the start, but better at the end. I got past de Puniet and then as I came up behind Dani I thought I could run better lap times than him. I thought I'd try to pass him, but that was just an impossible battle.

"Dani rode really well today, he didn't make any mistakes. He was coming out of the corners good, clean. Didn't give me an opportunity to get past. I was on his rear wheel for most of the race, but just wasn't able to get the job done. So hats off to Dani.

"But we've got to be happy with another podium today."

Having put his nightmare start to the season behind him, Stoner has now moved up to sixth in the championship, just two points behind fourth placed team-mate Nicky Hayden.

"I am happy to see that Casey is back to being… well, Casey!" said team manager Vittoriano Guareschi. "Even after running off track he recovered with a lot of determination and tried his best to the end but he could do no more than he did."

Hayden meanwhile had a 'tough' ride to eighth.

"What a tough race!" said Nicky. "We thought we had found something in the warm-up this morning using a worn tyre but in the race with the extra grip from a new tyre the balance just wasn't the same.

"I was really struggling over the first few laps and held myself up on my elbow a couple of times. The situation improved in the second half of the race, I was able to push a little harder to the point where I thought I could make up some positions.

"I lost too much time behind Melandri though and we finished eighth. It's not a great result but at least we have brought some points home and we're now fourth in the championship. If we want to stay there we have to do much better and get back to the level and we were at a couple of races ago.”

Casey stoner

Nationality	Australian
Date of birth	16 October 1985(1985-10-16)
Place of birth	Queensland, Australia
Website	caseystoner.com.au
Current team	Ducati Marlboro
Bike #	27
Championships	1 (2007)
Race starts 133	133
Wins	27
Podium finishes	56
Pole positions	23
Fastest laps	22
Points	1649
2009 position	4th (220 pts)