MotoGP Preview – Catalonian Grand Prix 2010
Round 7 of the MotoGP World Championship sees the riders heading to Catalunya, Spain. With the Championship being led by a Spaniard, expect to see the flare and glamour of the Spanish fans to be at its peak as the riders prepare to take the track for the third time in three weeks.
In the absence of Valentino Rossi, it seems like the Championship is a one horse race as his Spanish teammate Jorge Lorenzo now commands a 47 point lead over his nearest championship rival Dani Pedrosa. But despite the comfortable lead, Lorenzo will be keen to rectify his woes from last year when he lost an epic battle against Rossi as the two overtook each other for the lead on multiple occasions in the last lap of the race. There will, however, be the ever present threat of Dani Pedrosa who also hails from Spain.
Pedrosa will have lots more to prove as he will feel that this is his chance to make inroads into the championship lead of Lorenzo before he storms away with his maiden crown. Pedrosa will be hoping that he can improve on his win record having only won at Italy this year compared to Lorenzo’s four wins.
This race also marks the entry of the Japanese driver Wataru Yoshikawa who will be substituting for Valentino Rossi in the sister factory Yamaha bike. The 41 year old has served as the test driver for the team and claims he is quite familiar with the Yamaha M1 machine and is keen to return to the pinnacle of two wheel motorsport. He has made one previous race appearance in the premier class when he competed in the 2002 race at Motegi. Rossi will be expected to return to racing by the Czech Grand Prix set to take place on the 15th of August 2010, after he crashed in a practice session before qualifying in the Italian Grand Prix about four weeks ago. The race also marks the return of Marco Melandri after he dislocated his shoulder in the Friday Practice session of last week’s Grand Prix at Assen. So far Melandri has had quite a disappointing season scoring only 32 points and standing 11th in the championship so far, not quite what was expected from the driver who finished second in the championship in 2005.
Casey Stoner and Ducati will be hoping that they will be able to carry forward their momentum from Assen where the former World Champion took his first podium of the season. Historically, this is a track that hasn’t favoured Stoner and the Ducati team with his only win coming at the circuit in 2007. Another rider to keep your eye on this race will be Ben Spies as he continues to mix it with the factory boys on his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha. Having gotten a 4th place finish in Assen and his maiden MotoGP podium when he finished in an inspired 3rd place at Silverstone two weeks ago, Spies seems to have found his groove in MotoGP as he now leads his veteran team-mate Colin Edwards by 15 points and is the best of the rookies this year. Crossing over to the sport after winning the World Superbike Championship in his rookie year in 2009, Spies seems desperate to break the traditional rut that superbike riders seem to have when they shift to MotoGP.
All in all, it seems like the perfect culmination to the three back to back races. The bikes will line up at Catalunya as the track always seems to produce a cracker of a race. Will Lorenzo be able to make it three wins and poles in a row? Will the other riders be able to mount a challenge on the young contender for the throne? Will Ducati be able to kick-start their season? All these questions and more can only be answered on Sunday as the chequered flag waves and the riders take a much needed two week break from the action.
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