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!

Currently the only Japanese rider in MotoGP, Hiroshi Aoyama went down in history as the last 250cc World Champion after his consistent and superb run in the 2009 season. One of the most quiet riders on the grid, Aoyama’s shy nature also makes him one of the more unnoticed MotoGP riders, though his superb level of consistent riding has earned him great respect.

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.

Jorge Martinez, second from left, is welcomed into the MotoGP family.

Stepping in to replace the now-defunct Grupo Fransisco Hernando in the MotoGP class, the Aspar racing team will field one rider in the premier class ins 2010.

Jorge Martinez’s Aspar has been a dominant force in the 125s and 250s for the last few years, and is especially strong right now with their three 125 riders standing 1-2-3 in the standings, and Alvaro Bautista in second in the 250s.

The new Aspar team will field one Ducati rider in 2010.  Depending on the team’s success that year, Martinez has said that he is open to the idea of fielding a second rider in 2011.

The identity of the first Aspar MotoGP rider has not yet been revealed, but many bets are on Bautista taking the slot.  Bautista, who won with Aspar in the 125s before moving to the 250s with the same team, is poised to graduate up to the premier class in the next few years.

Joining him for sure in the premier class will be Marco Simoncelli, who has a confirmed ride for the Gresini Honda team.  Also looking to graduate in the next year or two is Hiroshi Aoyama, who currently leads the 250cc class and is poised to step in to fill the shoes of Yuki Takahashi as an (ideally) dominant rider in the premier class.

Jorge Martinez said he hopes to announce the identity of the team’s first MotoGP rider at Brno in August.

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.