MotoGP returns to action at Brno

The 2009 MotoGP World Championship recommences at Brno in the Czech Republic this weekend without Casey Stoner, who remains in Australia recovering from recent illness.

Following a short summer break and a historic last ever visit to Donington Park which saw title holder Valentino Rossi increase his lead at the head of the standings, Brno will be back to business for the rest of the competitors.

Although Rossi suffered his second worst result of the season so far at Donington, crossing the finishing line in fifth place having crashed out of the race lead, the misfortunes of his main rivals played into his hands as the Italian opened up a 25pt advantage in the title race.

En route to his sixth premier class crown last year Rossi was victorious at Brno - in addition to the venues for the two races which follow, Indianapolis and Misano - and he will look to turn the screw on his opponents as the MotoGP season intensifies.

Brno was also the venue for Rossi’s first ever GP win back in 1996 in the 125cc category and he boasts four premier class Czech victories in total dating back to 2001.

Behind Rossi in the MotoGP classification is his Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo who went into the summer break bruised and deflated after picking up injuries at Laguna Seca early in July and then suffered his second DNF of the year in Great Britain.

The Spaniard was 10th in his first Czech MotoGP appearance in a difficult race for the riders on Michelin tyres in 2008, but has a strong Brno record having won there in both the 250cc and 125cc championships.

Following his superb win at Laguna and a podium finish at Sachsenring Dani Pedrosa’s inconsistency was apparent again at Donington as the Repsol Honda rider struggled in the tricky conditions and could only manage ninth - from second on the grid - dashing his hopes of a dramatic title comeback.

The Spaniard sits fourth in the standings at present, two places ahead of Italian colleague Andrea Dovizioso who will be highly enthusiastic about returning to race action, on the back of his brilliant maiden MotoGP win at Donington.

The same can be said of fifth placed Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards, who equalled his best ever world championship result in second in England, ahead of Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) on the Donington rostrum.

De Puniet sits eighth overall in the general standings - just behind Hayate Racing’s Marco Melandri - but his quality 2009 results could be affected by a motocross training accident on the weekend after the British Grand Prix, which resulted in a broken left ankle. The Frenchman is expected to ride at Brno but is unlikely to be at 100 percent fit.

MotoGP’s current top 10 is completed by Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi who are under pressure to deliver good results in the Czech Republic having finished 13th and 11th in the UK at round 10.

"We've had a bit of time for some rest and relaxation since the last race and that has given all my injuries a chance to heal and I'll be 100 percent fit when we get to the Czech Republic,” said Vermeulen.

“The break has given us an opportunity to look at the data from the last couple of events and see where we can make some changes for Brno. We have a few ideas and we are both quite positive we can improve it straight away - which will be good.

“I've done pretty well at Brno in the past couple of years and I'm sure that this is a track where we can make the best of the GSV-R."

Brno will signal an alteration to the MotoGP regulations. For the remainder of the season all riders will be restricted to a maximum of just five engines for the last seven races of the year, a rule that will cost the rider a 10pt penalty if he uses above his quota.

Clock on the following link for current standings in the three world road racing championship classes.