MotoGP to intensify at historic Assen

The 2010 MotoGP world championship gathers further momentum this week as the TIM TT Assen heralds the sixth round on the calendar.

Taking a 37pt lead into the GP is Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, and the Spaniard will aim to turn the screw further as he chases a fourth win of the season having finished inside the top two in every race so far.

Just six days after his win at Silverstone, Lorenzo will attempt to replicate the three previous victories he has scored at the Dutch circuit (two in 250, one in 125), and last season he finished second at Assen on his way to runner-up spot in the 2009 championship.

Pushing ever harder for his first win of the campaign will be Honda's Andrea Dovizioso however, after the Italian's second place in the previous round lifted him to second spot in the standings - his highest position since joining the premier class. Dovizioso is also in a rich vein of form, having scored four podiums in the opening five rounds, and has a best finish of fifth at Assen from his debut season in the elite class.

Just 5pts behind him, Dovizioso's team-mate Dani Pedrosa will be targeting a bounce back from eighth place at Silverstone, and he has two podiums in the premier class at Assen, the most recent being second place in 2008. It was also the site of the Spaniard's first ever world championship win in the 125cc class in 2002.

Nicky Hayden again missed out on a podium as he took his fourth fourth place of the season, and prior to last year he had finished inside the top four at Assen for four successive years which included victory in 2006. His Ducati team-mate Casey Stoner is also still in search of a first podium of 2010, and has been inside the top three at Assen for the last three years, delivering Ducati their first MotoGP win there in 2008. His aim will be a repeat in an attempt to improve on his current standing of eighth.

Fresh off the back of his first MotoGP podium in Britain, Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies continues his learning curve in the premier class which appears to be making rapid progress.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) will be absent following a crash in the warm-up session at Silverstone in which the Japanese rider fractured a vertebra and will be replaced by Kousuke Akiyoshi, Honda's test rider, for the race. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi continues his recovery from a broken right leg, and will be replaced by two-time Japanese champion Wataru Yoshikawa from the next round at Catalunya.

Italian legend Giacomo Agostini will be present as a guest of Yamaha and will ride some display laps on his 1975 YZR500 OW23 machine.

Live coverage of racing will begin on ONE at 6.45pm on Saturday.