2017 MotoGP preview: Rd7, Catalunya, Spain, June 9-11

With hardly any time to draw breath since last Sunday's round in Mugello, the 2017 MotoGP title continues at another breathtaking part of Europe this weekend – the Mediterranean city of Barcelona on the Catalonian coast.

With elevation changes, a 1km straight, fast turns, hard braking zones and an imposing grandstand on the start/finish straight that provides an incredible acoustic backdrop, the 4.7km Catalunya circuit is a must for any true MotoGP fan.

The paddock heads back to Spain with Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha) a 26-point (105 to 79) leader in the championship over Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). The temptation to push for the win at home will be big, but Viñales will need to walk the line between glory and the long game.

"Montmeló is a very special track for me as it is my home Grand Prix," said Vinales.

"It's a really good track for me and for my riding style and I hope also for the bike. We are in a good flow, having gained good momentum, so we are strong and confident and we have many set-ups in case one won't work and for that reason I arrive to Montmeló really motivated.

"We will try to obtain as many points as we can and we will try to stand on the podium at the end of it, but to do so we have to be smart, also with the tyre selection."

Dovizioso is coming off a superb win at Mugello, and the Italian will now be looking for a far better result than last year's seventh at Catalunya to continue his momentum.

“After a fantastic win at Mugello I’m second overall in the championship, but I don’t exactly know what to expect from the Barcelona race," said Dovizioso.

"This year every weekend seems to be a different story, and in the test two weeks ago at Montmelò I was still missing something in the way of feeling.

"Obviously however we are very excited after the win in the Italian GP and this will help us for sure, even though it will only be during the weekend that we will be able to understand our true potential."

So what of last year’s winner? Mugello may not have gone to plan for Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) after he had a motocross crash before his home race, but with a few more days to recover he will be hoping to return the favour from the Italian GP and beat Viñales on his territory.

Rossi won last year's Catalunya race ahead of Repsol Honda pair Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, and then it was daylight back to fourth-placed Vinales, then on the Ecstar Suzuki.

Rossi is third in the title on 75 points, ahead of Marquez (68), Pedrosa (68), Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 64) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team, 46).

While Movistar Yamaha had a good weekend at Mugello, it was a tough Italian GP for Repsol Honda. Marquez came home sixth after struggling with the front, and Pedrosa crashed out on the final lap, taking out Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) in the process. They will want that to change at their second home race of the year, and both men have good records at Catalunya – winning ones.

Another man looking to tip the balance back in his favour will be Lorenzo. After a podium in Jerez, he will be pushing hard for a bigger bite of the points this time out. Lorenzo and Rossi, then teammates at Yamaha, fought out one of the classic MotoGP races in 2009.

The Catalan GP has always been good for Lorenzo, much like Jerez, and he was the fastest Ducati in the recent test there.

The Independent Teams took some more impressive finishes in Italy, the standout being Danilo Petrucci's third place on the Octo Pramac Racing Ducati and a fifth place for Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Ducati).

Crutchlow, 2016 Catalunya Moto2 winner Zarco and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will be looking to get back into the battle, as will Miller after his struggles at Mugello.

Miller is 12th in the standings on 30pts.

Moto2
Although Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) still leads the world championship, the Italian found himself off the podium at Mugello as teammate Alex Marquez fought Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) for the win – and it was veteran Pasini who came out on top.

What will Catalunya bring? With hotter temperatures and slightly revised layout, this should be another thriller.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will be looking to get back on the podium this Sunday, as well Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) who was the collateral damage in a crash by Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Racing Team).

Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) was another who crashed out but has pace, as does fellow rookie Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2).

Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing) made huge inroads at Mugello with a 14th place finish, and look for the Aussie to continue his form at a track he knows well.

Moto3
Victory in Moto3 at Mugello went to Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) who scored a stunning first win ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3).

Some of the key title contenders such as Spaniards Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) and Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) suffered a little at Mugello, but will be looking to hit back at the Catalan GP – and know the crowd will be behind them this time.

There are also other riders for the home crowd to cheer: Juanfran Guevara (RBA BOE Racing Team), who took his first podium at Mugello, and Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0).

Brit John McPhee (British Talent Team) is also now back in the groove after a solid sixth in Mugello and, after recent races, the fight at the front can surely not count out Platinum Bay Real Estate pairing Marcos Ramirez and Darryn Binder. Or Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers), who always plays a role once the lights go out.

Schedule
The three world championship races at Catalunya will be held over the following distances and times:

• MotoGP: 22 laps, 102.3km, starting at 2:00pm local time (10:00pm AEST)
• Moto2: 23 laps, 107km, starting a 12:20pm local time (8:20pm AEST)
• Moto3: 25 laps, 116.3km, starting at 11:00am local time (7:00pm AEST)