Super Silverstone set for MotoGP rebirth

A fantastic new Silverstone awaits MotoGP for round five of the 2010 world championship this weekend, with Aussie Casey Stoner (Ducati) eager to get his first podium of the year.

Meanwhile, championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) will be looking to further strengthen his hold on the top spot in the standings. The Spaniard currently has a 25pt lead heading into round five, but will be facing the unknown as he and his fellow premier class riders take to the track for the first time in its current form.

Lorenzo's countryman Dani Pedrosa (Honda) will be going for his first back-to-back premier class wins after victory at Mugello, but he will have to contend with team-mate Andrea Dovizioso who has also enjoyed a strong start to the campaign. The Italian won the British GP at Donington last year in a rain-affected contest - his first and to date only premier class victory - and has been on the podium in three of the four rounds so far in 2010.

Ducati Marlboro's Nicky Hayden will be aiming to bounce back from the disappointment of not finishing the race in Italy as he looks to close a 19pt gap to fourth-placed Dovizioso, while Randy de Puniet (Honda) will draw on the inspiration of his British-based podium last year as he goes for consolidation as his status as the highest place private rider.

Marco Melandri (Honda) will want to build on his best result of the campaign so far in the last round (fifth), and Stoner  also scored his highest placement of the season yet with fourth in Italy. The Australian is desperate to get on the dais and improve on his standing of eighth.

In missing the last race at Mugello, Valentino Rossi failed to start a GP for the first time in his career, bringing to an end a record sequence of 230 successive starts. The world champion continues his recovery from his broken leg, with his team opting to not field a replacement rider at Silverstone. The Italian's garage will be set up however with both his YZR-M1 machines on display for fans to see.

The last 500cc GP at Silverstone in 1986 saw Aussie Wayne Gardner - who would go onto win the world title the following year - obliterate the field, defeating fellow Honda rider Didier de Radigues by nearly 10 seconds. Eddie Lawson (Yamaha) was third, and would go onto win the world championship for the second time.

Since that time, the British Grand Prix has been held at Donington.