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NEWS
MotoGP preview: Silverstone
The season is really starting to hot up, with Jorge Lorenzo now a 20pt leader over Australia's Casey Stoner, who was the victor at the English circuit in 2011This weekend sees the MotoGP grid descend on the Silverstone circuit to fight it out for top honours at the Hertz British Grand Prix, where Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo will be looking to extend his 20pt lead over rival Casey Stoner (Honda).
The Australian enjoyed one of his most dominant victories in the wet at the track last year, yet will no doubt face a stern challenge from Lorenzo, who has won the last two races.
"I'm definitely looking forward to going to Silverstone; it's a track that I really do enjoy,” said Stoner. “I wish that we still went through the old part of the track, as the new section is very, very tight. The rest of the track is fantastic though, it's fast and makes the heart beat very quick!
“The Monday test (after the last round at Catalunya) was a positive step for us, but we're still far from perfect. We definitely made some progress with reducing the chatter but we will have to wait until we get on track on Friday to see if what we found also works at Silverstone. Again, we'll be hoping for dry weather so we can maximise every minute of track time to prepare for Sunday's race.”
Lorenzo, who will have the championship firmly in his sights, could also alter the history books with a win or a podium this weekend, by either equalling Stoner’s 42 wins, or securing his 50th premier-class podium.
Sitting third in the championship, Stoner’s teammate Dani Pedrosa should be buoyed by his second place in the last race at Catalunya, yet at the test following the race he voiced his discontent at the new front tyre, which will be used as standard from the British Grand Prix.
Andrea Dovizioso, who is currently leading the chase for fourth over his teammate Cal Crutchlow, is heading into the Silverstone round after picking up his first Yamaha podium at Catalunya. This was the first podium for a satellite team since Colin Edwards achieved the same on a Tech 3 bike at the British track last year.
Crutchlow will be hoping for a huge reversal in fortunes from his home race last year, where he broke his collarbone in qualifying and subsequently missed the race. Having shown tremendous form this season so far, and having diced with Stoner at Catalunya, the Brit will be looking to challenge for his first ever GP podium in front of home support.
Ducati’s Valentino Rossi maintains that the Desmosedici is improving in the dry, yet would no doubt welcome some wet English weather to help his charge up to the front. He will once again be hotly pursued by Álvaro
Bautista, who looks to be getting ever more comfortable on his satellite Honda. Stefan Bradl (Honda) will no doubt prove a tough challenger however, as the rookie is also showing continual improvement in his maiden premier-class season.
Ducati’s Nicky Hayden, who struggled with a numb hand in Catalunya, will be hoping for a strong finish at the British track, and will look to fend off any challenges from Héctor Barberá (Ducati), who was quick in last week’s official tests.
Currently sitting in 11th in the championship, Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies is once again hoping to get his season on-track, after a costly mistake in Catalunya ended his podium challenge. He was very fast during testing on board his Yamaha, and will no doubt look to put this into practice in the UK.
Check your local guides for full coverage on Channel 10/ONE.
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Written byBikesales Staff
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