MotoGP heads to Indianapolis

The 2010 MotoGP season continues its march towards the decisive part of the season with round 11 of 18 taking place at Indianapolis this weekend, and all eyes will once more be on Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo as he aims to maintain his phenomenal form.

Victory last time out at Brno made the Spaniard only the third premier class rider in history to have placed inside the top two in all 10 opening races of a season, and few would bet against him extending his win count this season to eight at a track he was victorious on last season.

With a 77pt advantage over Dani Pedrosa in the standings, the Honda man will be eager not only to halt his rival's run, but also to make up for last year's Indy outing. Pedrosa dominated the weekend and started from pole, but crashed early in the race and eventually placed 10th.

Fresh from second place in the Czech Republic he will be targeting a third win of the season, which would be a first treble of premier class wins in one year for the 24 year-old.

Australian Casey Stoner's consistent podium finishing over the past five rounds has lifted the Ducati rider to third overall, and still in search of a first win of the season

"I'm really looking forward to going back to Indy because it's a circuit where we were in good shape in 2008 despite the crazy weather," said Stoner of the rain-affected race two years ago. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to race last year, but hopefully this time around we can make the most of the work we did in the Brno test, even though we didn't have much time.

"We'll start out on Friday with the new front fork because our first impressions of it were good although we still have to decide whether we'll use it for the race. We'll also try some settings on the rear that we managed to get a few laps on at Brno but that also need checking out."

Just 4pts behind Stoner in the standings is Andrea Dovizioso (Honda), and the Italian will want a solid result after his first DNF of 2010 in the last round. The Italian has finished fifth and fourth in his two rides at Indy, and will expect to go one better in the battle for third with Stoner.

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) continues to go from strength to strength as he regains full fitness, and has winning form on the track from 2008. Two points off the Italian in the standings is his future team-mate for 2011, Ducati's Nicky Hayden. The American, still in search of a first podium of the campaign, will be desperate for a strong home display and will hope the injured left hand he sustained in Brno does not hinder those aspirations.

Rookie Ben Spies (Yamaha) will have identical goals to compatriot Hayden on home soil, while Randy de Puniet's incredible return to action at Brno just four weeks after a broken leg will take its next step as the Honda rider attempts to regain the highest privateer honour.

Italian Marco Melandri (Honda) and another proud American Colin Edwards (Yamaha) complete the top 10 as it stands.

Live coverage on ONE starts at 1.55am on Monday, August 30, with the premier MotoGP race at 4.30am.