Racing: Portugal MotoGP preview

The 14th round of the 2009 MotoGP championship that takes place at Estoril, Portugal, this weekend will be of much interest to Australian viewers as Casey Stoner makes his return to racing.

After sitting out the last three races to recoup from a mystery virus, the Ducati Marlboro team rider will make his return, but Stoner's hiatus has taken the 23-year-old out of the championship fight.

While Stoner sits in fourth place in the championship on 150 points with four races to go, Italian virtuoso Valentino Rossi tops the table with 237 points and will fight it out with Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo who is second on 207 points.

Meanwhile Dani Pedrosa is unlikely to challenge for the championship with 157 points in third place leading into the Estoril race.

So the stoush between the Rossi and the Lorenzo, both of the Fiat Yamaha team, will be the one to watch and is shaping up as a rip-snorter, as Lorenzo has more than one reason to race his Yamaha YZR-M1 like a true champ.

Firstly, Jorge Lorenzo claimed his first MotoGP win at this event at the Estoril track last year which puts him in good stead and, secondly, an army of his Spanish supporters will be making the journey across the border to Portugal, many of whom will be dressed as Spartan warriors.

"The fans have been really motivated by Jorge’s results this season. That’s why we want to be here to support him right at trackside at a key moment in his title fight. We are looking forward to welcoming as many ‘Lorenzistas’ as possible in Portugal," said a spokesman for the official Jorge Lorenzo fan club.

While Casey Stoner will be closely watched by fans all over the world, the other local lad in the mix is Chris Vermeulen of the Rizla Suzuki team. Sitting in 11th spot in the championship standings with 84 points, he was relatively upbeat about the Portuguese race: "I can't wait to get back on the bike again after the short break we've had, I feel fully refreshed and totally focused on the rest of the season.

"Estoril is a tough track for us, but with the changes we've made recently I'm hoping that will point us in a new direction," explained Chris.

"I've had a couple of top-10 finishes there and although they are not the sort of results I would like, they have all been hard battles and I've learnt a lot more each time. I'm really looking forward to the weekend and will be doing all I can to push the bike up towards the front," added Chris Vermeulen.

Some other dark horses to look out for include Stoner's team mate, American Nicky Hayden, plus Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso.

Current MotoGP standings leading into the Portugeuse (Estoril) round:

1 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 237
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 207
3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 157
4 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 150
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 133

6 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 123
7 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 97
8 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 88
9 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 88
10 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 87

11 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 84
12 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 80
13 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 78
14 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 73
15 Mika KALLIO FIN Ducati Marlboro Team 51
16 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 35
17 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 12
18 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 12
19 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 9
20 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing 8