MotoGP: Back to work at Brno

Refreshed and ready to take on the second half of the 2010 season, the MotoGP riders and teams are back in action this weekend at Brno for the Cardion ab Grand Prix Czech Republic, where the chase to catch championship leader Jorge Lorenzo recommences.

After nine of the 18 rounds of the season the Fiat Yamaha rider is 72 points clear at the top of the standings, thanks to his superb form of claiming six wins and three second places so far this season. Another top-two finish would make Lorenzo only the third rider in GP racing’s 62-year history to place either first or second in the opening 10 races of a season, the others being Giacomo Agostini and Mick Doohan.

To maintain his fantastic form Lorenzo will need to win at a circuit he has not yet triumphed at in the premier class, after crashing last year when battling teammate Valentino Rossi for the race lead. He does, however, have a fine record in the smaller classes there.

Dani Pedrosa is the closest to Lorenzo in the standings at present and the Repsol Honda rider has a point to prove following his crash at Laguna Seca in the previous round. The Spaniard enjoyed a consistent run leading up to the summer interval and was leading the race in the US when he fell, and has twice finished on the podium at Brno including second place last year – his best premier class Brno result.

In third place and 23 points off his teammate is Andrea Dovizioso, who is eager to rediscover his early-season podium form, whilst the resurgent Casey Stoner (Ducati Team) is hot on the Italian's tail. Stoner did not race at Brno last season but he has previously tasted victory there (in 2007). Stoner has not yet won a round this season, but after four successive podium finishes in the last four rounds, it would seem he's edging ever closer to breaking the victory draught.

"Brno is one of my favourite circuits – I've liked it since I raced there for the first time back in 2002," said Stoner. "It's long and flowing, with a lot of direction changes and plenty of opportunities to overtake. It's the kind of circuit that lends itself to spectacular races and I can't wait to race there again. I wasn't fit to ride last year and I missed it. I want to make up for that this weekend so we'll be looking to find a good set-up for the bike, improve by a couple of tenths compared to the rest and be fighting for the win," he added.

Brno has been a very fruitful hunting ground for Rossi, who has five premier class wins there, including victory in each of the last two years. A podium last time out at Laguna in only his second race back from injury moved him back up to fifth, where he sits a single point ahead of Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team).

Another American rider, Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), is also closing in on the top five, and Brno offers a familiar circuit for the rookie, who has previously ridden there in WSBK.

Set to make an extremely speedy and very welcome return to action from his broken leg is Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda). Pending medical clearance, the Frenchman intends to ride again just four weeks after his crash at Germany's Sachsenring – last year he rode to 10th place at Brno, having broken his ankle just three weeks before the race.

San Carlo Honda Gresini pair Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli are closely matched in ninth and 10th in the standings, whilst Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) will follow up his best result of 2010 so far, with an attempt to place higher than seventh.

Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar), Rizla Suzuki pair Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista, and Pramac Racing duo Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaró will all aim for improvement, while Alex de Angelis (Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team) is set to continue in place of the injured Hiroshi Aoyama.

The Cardion ab Grand Prix Czech Republic will light up the Brno circuit on Sunday, August 15.