Highside

Round three of the 2010 MotoGP season is about to begin, and all eyes are turned to the Fiat Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. For the seventh time since the two first rode on the same team, Fiat Yamaha has qualified 1-2, and when the lights go out on Sunday, the vicious battle for the World Championship title resumes in earnest at the legendary home of French racing, Le Mans.

Rossi, who has been slowly recovering from a bad shoulder after an incident in training, has shown himself to be in good health and stamina going into the race. He currently sits four points behind his teammate Lorenzo in the standings, and will be looking to finish better than the disappointing 16th he posted in last year’s wet French Grand Prix. Lorenzo, on the other hand, will be looking to put in a repeat performance of last year’s chaotic race at Le Mans, and continue to build his lead in the standings.

Looking to challenge the Fiat Yamaha duo is the remainder of the Fantastic Four, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Stoner comes to Le Mans with a serious gap between himself and Lorenzo in the standings, thanks in no small part to his crash at the season opener in Qatar. Being beaten by his Marlboro Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden for the first time at the previous race in Jerez, Stoner will come off the line focused, and having qualified in 4th, he stands poised to make a strong start and take the hole shot into turn one. Pedrosa also comes to Le Mans with a bit of a grudge to settle, having led the previous race for nearly the entirety, only to have his victory snatched from his grasp in a last-lap pass by his bitter rival, Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa is notoriously quick off the line, and if the cards fall his way, he could very well end up doing what he does best–a lightning start that rockets him into first, where he can ride a lonely and unchallenged race to win.

Farther back in the grid, a number of riders are hoping to mess up the projected orders. Nicky Hayden has had an unbelievable start to his season, performing on a level that has been absent since he won the championship in 2006. Fellow American Ben Spies has yet to crack into the top four as many had predicted, but hopes are still high for the Texan to demonstrate the raw, furious talent that propelled him to the World Superbike title last year. A number of other rookies are hoping to start moving up the order as well, most notably Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama. The two former 250cc champions have performed well so far, but have failed to crack into the ranks of the rest of the veterans.

Of course, there’s one other thing that’s on all the other rider’s minds now. Last week’s rumor that Casey Stoner signed a contract with Honda for 2011 has marked the start to what will undoubtedly be a long and exciting Silly Season. As the riders take to the tracks at Le Mans, they will not only be riding for championship points, but also for seats on the best bikes, and the best teams, in the coming seasons.

The lights go out at Le Mans in less than 12 hours. Round three is upon us. Stay with us for more coverage of the MotoGP season as it unfolds!

It seems Casey Stoner’s mystery illness has been getting worse, with the Australian deciding to extend his summer break through the next three Grand Prixs.  Taking his place will be Mika Kallio, the Finnish rookie whose peformance at Pramac has been hit-or-miss, but very promising.

“We have taken the difficult decision not to contest the next three rounds of the championship, to allow my body time to recover from the recent stress. The doctors believe that during the Barcelona race I was suffering from a virus, and, that I subsequently pushed my body too hard, leading to problems that have caused my fatigue since then,” Stoner said in a press release.  “I will be doing everything possible to come back at full strength for Portugal.”

It will be very interesting to see how Kallio does with a factory team behind his back, but don’t hold your breath for any magical upsets.  The Finn still has to gain a little more experience before he starts winning races, and with the results of Donington fresh in everyone’s minds, a lot of racers will be out there with something to prove.  Nevertheless, expect Kallio to perform just that much better, as he’ll have just as much to prove as Dovizioso, De Puniet, and all the other riders faring for their futures now that Silly Season is in full swing.

Filling in for Kallio at Pramac for the next three races will be Michel Fabrizio, who could possibly have eyes for Niccolo Canepa’s bike, depending on his performance over the next month.

Stoner’s withdrawl from the next three races officially quashes any hopes he had at finishing 2009 as champion, and leaves the door open for Lorenzo and Rossi to continue their battle royale without the distractions of a third contender.

Mika Kallio during Free Practice at Donington

Qualifying has ended over at Donington Park, and for the first time since 2005, Valentino Rossi will stand at the front in Pole Position.  Dani Pedrosa will start at number 2 on the grid, with a fastest time less than one tenth of a second slower than The Doctor.  Jorge Lorenzo starts third on the grid, continuing his perfect record of front row starts this season.

Casey Stoner suffered his second fall of the day, taking a lowside during the earlier part of qualifying.  James Toseland, Nicky Hayden, and Mika Kallio also had disappointing qualifying runs.  Toseland, the only British rider in the premier class, starts on the outside of the third row in 9th position, while Hayden starts all the way back in 15th.

125cc title contender and local Bradley Smith took pole in the smallest class, setting himself up for a great performance coming hot off the heels of his disappointing showing out in Germany.

Despite his showing during qualifying today, having Rossi on top of the podium when the checkered flag is waved seems unlikely.  Then again, The Doctor has never been one for simply meeting expectations. Dani Pedrosa’s dominance out on the circuit could mean another top finish for the Spaniard, while Jorge Lorenzo’s times during FP2 and QP lead one to believe The Janitor could possibly rise above.  Casey Stoner will have to beat whatever has been causing these crashes out on the dry track today, but his dominance on the track gives me faith that he will still contend for the podium.

A lot of this will depend on the track conditions come race time.  Weather forecasts put the chance of rain tomorrow at about 70%, which means we’ll probably be contending with a wet race.  This would bode particularly well for Dani Pedrosa, whose excellence in wet weather is unmatched by any of the other podium contenders.  However, if the track should dry out  mid race and we’re left with a flag-to-flag race, keep an eye out for Jorge Lorenzo, whose brilliant decision to stay out on wets for longer in Le Mans won him the race.

This weekend, MotoGP comes to Donington Park for the last time, bringing along with it the fierce competition this season has provided. Let’s take a look at three things to keep an eye on this weekend.

Andrea Dovizioso
After his third straight DNF in a race, Dovizioso has a lot of pressure on him when the lights go out. The Italian finished in first two years ago in the 250cc class, and 5th last year. Can the second Repsol Honda rider pull through and finally take a podium? Will he continue his streak of retirings? Or is Dovizioso doomed to never rise past #4? While answers set at Donington won’t be set in stone, the race will give even more insight into his future in MotoGP.

Nicky Hayden
The Kentucky Kid is back on track, delivering a phenomenal and, frankly, surprising showing during FP1 and QP in Germany. However, an overzealous start took Hayden’s podium chances away. Can he turn this around in Donington, a track that has a less than favorable track record for Ducati? For the sake of his future, I can only hope so.

Jorge Lorenzo
Speculation is beginning to build over The Janitor’s future as Rossi’s teammate. Lorenzo’s one small sentence has been brewing many different theories, over just how much money he’s worth. Despite the overwhelming success he’s had on the Yamaha, is being #1 on a team worth the switch over to Honda? And if so, what does that mean in terms of other team switches. Only time can tell, and it’ll start telling this weekend in England.

Nicky Hayden reviews his performance after the German Grand Prix

(via Weather.com)

Contrary from yesterday’s post, the forecast shows rain coming for the 250cc and MotoGP races.  60% chance, but there are some dark clouds overhead on the circuit already.  With the 125cc race just finishing and the track still dry, one can only hope that the rain stays up above and leaves the track dry for the bigger bikes.

(from Weather.com)

Party cloudy skies, high of 64 F (18 C).  10-20 mph winds. 20% chance of rain.

What this means:

A dry race.  After today’s qualifying, that can only be a good thing.

After a relatively uneventful free practice in the morning, Saturday’s Qualifying at the Saschenring turned into a festival of chaos and destruction.  Six crashes involving seven riders AND a run-off, all on the same corner.  Turn eight has become the inevitable zone of conflict on this wet circuit, and with weather forecast hopefully showing drier conditions, there’s a lot of hope that tomorrow’s race will be less of a bloodbath.  Here are some highlights from qualifying at the ‘Ring.

Valentino Rossi

Taking his first pole ever in Germany, The Doctor has a set-up now to take a flag-to-flag victory on Sunday, which would add even more to his lead in the Championship standings.  It’s important to note that Rossi has won three of his last four races from Pole Position, taking second to Jorge Lorenzo in Japan earlier this year. Rossi hasn’t won in Germany since 2006, finishing second last year after Dani Pedrosa crashed out from the lead, and crashing himself two years ago.  It’ll be an important race for Rossi, but anything can happen out at the Saschenring.

Nicky Hayden

The Kentucky Kid continues his dramatic and powerful comeback by qualifying 4th on the starting grid.  Coming hot off the heels of his 5th place finish in Laguna Seca, the former World Champion is hoping to contend for his first podium since Australia last year. While many have written Hayden off as washed up and done with, he’s shown throughout this whole weekend that he’s here to compete, posting the top times for over half of Free Practice 1, contending for the top 3 in Free Practice 2, and Qualifying in forth position. Look for Hayden to assert his pressure on the front tomorrow in a way that truly shows his merits as a former World Champion.

Jorge Lorenzo + Casey Stoner

Qualifying in second and third, the final two still in contention for the championship title have serious work on their hands if they hope to push past Valentino tomorrow. Stoner has shown dramatic improvement already, having the endurance to challenge throughout a full hour, thus leading to believe his (former) mystery illness is on the outs.  Lorenzo has been performing well beyond expectations weekend despite his injuries.  The Spaniard has never finished above third place at the Saschenring, and has never completed a race here in the MotoGP class, but don’t put him down for dead in this race just yet.  Even with a series of poor starts in the last few races, Lorenzo has repeatedly shown his ability to ricochet up to compete for what is rightly his: a shot at winning.

The first hour of riding is over for the MotoGP riders, and there are a couple of surprises coming out of Germany.

The fastest rider today was Casey Stoner, who posted his top time towards the end of the session with a 1′22.779. Stoner’s display isn’t the biggest surprise of the day, but it shows that he might have finally beaten this illness that’s plaguing him—at least mentally. Knowing at long last what’s causing his sickness could give him a strong morale boost, and the fact that his top time stood out as being over two tenths of a second faster than any other racer is something to take seriously.

After Casey Stoner, the next three racers all clocked in a best lap within one tenth of each other. Dani Pedrosa andValentino Rossi complete the top three, and then the surprise ride from Randy De Puniet stands out to complete this closely packed trio.

Nicky Hayden, while finishing with the 8th fastest time, was still putting out a solid showing, leading for almost the entire time while the circuit was still wet. Hayden has said he’s looking to improve on his 5th place finish in Laguna, and if the race on Sunday is wet instead of dry, I’d expect him to seriously challenge the top 5 again.

Towards the back end of the field, Andrea Dovizioso stands in 9th, while Jorge Lorenzo stands in 11th. The Janitor made remarks in a press conference after the practice that he’s feeling worse than he imagined, but there’s little surprise to be had in this. Lorenzo’s best ride at the Saschenring was in the amateur class, in which he only finished 3rd. While he may not be able to challenge for the podium in this race, Lorenzo is still far from out of this championship battle.

With the weather forecast showing rain for Sunday’s race, the risk for danger on this tight, quick track will be just as big as last year. Despite the mystery, this race is sure to be a tight one.

We’re less than a week away before the next race, and with that in mind we bring you a list of three key things to watch for this weekend.

Dani Pedrosa
After over a year without winning, Pedrosa was back on top of the podium in Laguna Seca, securing a win that took everyone by surprise. As we head back to Europe this week, the Spaniard will have one thing on his mind: avoiding the same terrible crash that befell him last year on this same course. While Pedrosa is definitely out of the running for first in the championship standings, it will be interesting–and very important–to see how he manages his nerves and his bike on a course that’s caused him so many injuries.

Jorge Lorenzo
The Janitor took a nasty nasty fall last week in the States, and is still weeks away from full fitness. That being said, Lorenzo was still a powerful contender in Laguna Seca (one of the most physically demanding circuits of the season) and even momentarily shot into second place towards the end of the race. Lorenzo’s performance was beyond superb. It leaves a lot to the imagination: if Lorenzo wasn’t injured, could he have won in Laguna, and with two weeks of rest, how much more improved will he be in Germany? All eyes are on Lorenzo this week to see if he’s still in the championship running.

Hiroshi Aoyama, Alvaro Bautista, and Hector Barbera
While there have been no serious announcements regarding the three leaders of the 250cc class, the loss of Sete Gibernau and Yuki Takahashi have put the number of MotoGP riders well below the threshold of comfort, and it’s not unreasonable to expect at least one of the riders to move up to the premier class next year. My money would be on Aoyama; the loss of Takahashi means that there are no Japanese riders on the grid for the first time since 1992, and it’s fairly reasonable to expect either Honda or Yamaha to pick up the Japanese Championship winner. Bautista seems another likely choice; he’s been in the 250cc class for a while, and has been putting up some good numbers. Barbera is more of a longshot, but expect the MotoGP teams to start watching these three riders very closely to see who else will join Marco Simoncelli as a MotoGP rookie next year.