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!

125cc
The 125cc class uses the smallest engines of all the current MotoGP classes, and consequently has the smallest bikes of the three. 125cc engines in MotoGP are regulated to have two cylinders. The 125s are seen as more of a novice class, where young riders can gain experience on the world stage before progressing to the larger bikes. The 125cc class is currently the only class in MotoGP that has a maximum age limit (25 years old). Riders must be at least 16 years old in order to compete in the race. 125cc motorcycles have been raced in MotoGP since it’s inaugural season in 1949.

250cc
The 250cc class was the intermediary class between the 125s and the premier MotoGP class before it was replaced with the Moto2 class in 2010. Two cylinder 250cc bikes served as a training catalyst for riders hoping to move into the premier class, but the increased age and skill of the riders, along with the higher speeds and more advanced technology that went into designing the bikes, meant that many people considered it less of a stepping stone and more of a full-fledged, independent class. However, the trend of 250cc World Champions “graduating” to MotoGP hindered this reputation.

Moto2
Moto2 is the spiritual successor to the intermediary 250cc class, in which teams develop their own bike around a spec four cylinder 600cc engine. The Moto2 class began in 2010, in a change brought about by both a desire to cut costs for teams, and increase the number of riders on the track. The series has seen great success thus far, providing two drama-filled races in which over 40 riders have competed. The decision to use a spec engine was an attempt to even the playing field for smaller teams with less funding, while the ability to design a custom chassis has rekindled an old spark in the MotoGP world: privateer teams running “garage” bikes designed by one or two people, and not a factory. Initial reaction to the change has been mixed, with some people complaining about the loss of the traditional 250cc class, and others expressing concern over the use of a spec engine. However, the changes have been greeted positively by riders and team managers, as evidenced by the increased focus on the intermediary class.

MotoGP
The MotoGP Premier class uses four cylinder 800cc prototype bikes currently designed by one of four factories: Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, or Ducati. The premier class is the main attraction to the world of MotoGP, containing the fastest bikes, best riders, largest salaries, biggest sponsors, and the most glamour. Multi-MotoGP World Championship winners often go on to join the pantheon of racing legends, with the likes of Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, Michael Doohan, and Valentino Rossi.

Aoyama, like most of the current crop of MotoGP riders, started racing at a very young age. He competed in MiniMoto at the age of 4, racing against the man who would eventually become his chief rival, Yuki Takahashi. Aoyama experienced his first success while riding in the Japanese Road Racing Championship, where he took the 250cc title in 2003. The following year, he would make his debut on the international stage.

Hiroshi Aoyama impressed viewers immediately upon his entry in the 250cc class, taking two podiums and finishing in 6th place in 2004. The next year would see him finish in 4th place following a season in which he took his first victory at his home race, Motegi. Aoyama would continue to race in the 250cc class for the next four years, bringing KTM their first victory in the class, before switching back to Honda in 2009. It was on board the Team Scot Honda that Aoyama would win the 250cc crown, on a bike that was three years behind in development.

Aoyama’s performance in 2009 was highly admirable, if not dominant. He would stand on the podium seven times that season, four of which were from race wins. Most impressive, though, was that he finished every race of the season in the points–Aoyama never crashed out of a race, nor did he ever finish below 15th. Aoyama’s title win at the age of 28 made him the oldest 250cc World Champion in nearly two decades, and the first Japanese rider to win a title since Daijiro Kato won the 250cc crown in 2001.

Aoyama would move into MotoGP in 2010 on board a Honda furnished by the Interwetten team. He finished his debut race in Qatar in 10th place, ahead of every other 2010 rookie save for the American Ben Spies. Hiroshi has again shown great consistency onboard his MotoGP bike, and is undoubtedly looking forward to making more progress in the 2010 season.

Hiroshi Aoyama during pre-season testing at the Sepang circuit.

The first casualty of the high costs came from Kawasaki’s withdrawal in the 2009 pre-season. Once the season began, concerns began to grow about the financial stability of some of the satellite teams–concerns which manifested after Team Scot Honda had to release Yuki Takahashi after seven races. Just one round later, panic began to take hold as the Grupo Francisco Hernando team withdrew, leaving the MotoGP grid at less than 18 riders for the first time in many years. Financial difficulties weren’t limited to teams and riders alone, as the Hungarian Grand Prix was cancelled, with the Balatonring’s construction halted from lack of funds.

The 2010 season has unified teams and organizers together in an effort to try and cut the costs and prevent any more withdrawals, and the most influential decision made thus far has been the limit on the number of engines a team can use in a season. Before 2010, there had been no limit to the number of times an engine could be rebuilt, which led to one of the most prohibitively expensive costs of the series: flying the engines back to the factories after every race to be stripped apart, cleaned, and re-assembled. The need for this came from yet another prohibitively expensive practice: in an effort to squeeze every last fraction of a second out of the engines, constructors were building their engines out of incredibly lightweight, fragile materials that were constantly breaking down after each race weekend. All of these factors combined to create a need for engine limitations, and it’s brought us to where we are today.

The new regulations require each rider to use only six engines for the entire season. Engines are monitored by the series organizers to ensure that no engine is being stripped down and rebuilt, which has completely cut out the need to fly the engines halfway around the world every other week. The regulations have caused each factory to redesign their engines, building for performance and durability together now, and this has created the unfortunate Catch-22 of the season: in an attempt to cut costs, the regulations have forced each team to spend more money on designing new engines. These costs are not permanent, however–improvements made in increasing durability this year will carry over into future years, and if all goes according to the plan, costs will begin to fall in 2011.

The penalties for breaking the new regulation are still in flux, with the most recent revision being finalized this past weekend at the Jerez race. As it currently stands, any rider who starts a race using a new engine beyond his originally allotted six will start the race from the exit of pit lane, ten seconds after the race begins. This penalty is a bit strange, however–pit lane exits vary from track to track, and the severity of the penalty varies widely for each location. Nowhere is this more concerning than at the Valencia circuit, where, as Nicky Hayden pointed out in an interview on the subject, any rider starting from the exit to pit late “would lead into turn one.” Having an advantage like this at Valencia, the final circuit of the season, could cast a dark shadow over the whole race.

Cutting costs is hardly a perfect science–for many teams, it’s diametrically opposed to the culture MotoGP has bred into them for the past decade. Yet, everyone in the paddock realizes that, for the sport to survive, cuts need to be made. We can only hope that all the loose ends will be tied up before they come into play.

Indeed, up until the penultimate lap it seemed that poleman and fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa would walk away with another win after taking the holeshot into the first corner and never looking back. Valentino Rossi rocketed up from 4th on the grid to 2nd, and despite his injured shoulder, put out a superb ride. Superb was still not enough, however, as the Italian found himself overtaken by his teammate with just five laps to go.

Nothing’s impossible for these Untouchables, however. Just as was the case in Qatar, Lorenzo found magical speed in his M1 during the final laps, launching a drive that carried him from over two seconds down on Rossi, all the way to the win. In the final two laps, Lorenzo and Pedrosa launched into a vicious scrap, almost colliding at one point, as the two rivals fought bitterly into every corner. With half a lap remaining, Lorenzo forced Pedrosa wide, sealing the win.

Just as impressive as Lorenzo’s final push was a less publicized push by Mika Kallio. The Pramac Ducati veteran qualified in 17th–last on the grid–and somehow found the speed to push all the way up into 7th. Nicky Hayden seemed to have impressed everyone other than himself with a repeat of his 4th place finish in Qatar, holding off Casey Stoner in the final laps to beat his teammate for the first time in equal conditions. Hayden really has taken well to the new Ducati GP10, as has shown that he deserves his spot on the Marlboro Ducati team.

Disappointment today for the American Ben Spies, as he was forced to retire after losing all the grip in his front tyre. Aleix Espargaro also retired after a broken brake lever caused him to slowly drift into Pit Lane. The only crash came from the most veteran rider in the field, Loris Capirossi, who lost the front end and slid out in Turn 13 early on in the race. Casey Stoner is also undoubtedly feeling dejected at the end of his race, after performing so well in the practice sessions. The Australian finished the race in 5th position, never quite finding the speed he desperately needed to make up for his crash at the season opener in Qatar.

A race win by Lorenzo is always a spectacle, and it would be a great disservice if we did not at least mention the Mallorcan’s antics following the checkered flag. Lorenzo went on to plant the Lorenzo’s Land flag in the gravel during his victory lap, but it was his surprise swim that had everyone rolling in laughter, as Lorenzo sprinted from his bike and dived straight into one of the many small lakes that fill the Jerez compound, helmet and race leathers still on. Lorenzo was quick to learn that getting in is easier than getting out, however, as he was unable to climb out of the lake, and had to be pulled out by a human chain of photographers and race marshals.

With Jerez now in the books, eyes are already turning towards Le Mans. Will Rossi’s shoulder be completely healed? Can Casey Stoner exert his dominance once more? Is Lorenzo’s final lap speed untouchable? Will Nicky Hayden finally podium? And will the newcomer that so many have pinned such high expectations on, Ben Spies, finally run at the front? We’ll let you know when MotoGP heads to France in just three weeks time.