Highside

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.

Former World Champion.  AMA Superstar.  Number 69.  Nicky Hayden may be all these things, but to his fans, he’s just The Kentucky Kid.

Nicky Hayden’s origins come from the dirt-tracks of the Grand National championship and the Central Motorcycle Racing Association, where he started racing when he was a little kid.  Hayden won his first AMA Supersport championship when he was only 18 years old, all the way back in 1999.  The Kentucky Kid began racing fulltime in the AMA Superbike league the next year, and finished just 40 points behind Madd Mladin, who won the title.  Two years later, he would become the youngest AMA Superbike Champion in history, unseating Mladin from his throne at the top of the AMA.  He also made his World Superbike debut in 2002 as a wildcard rider, finishing in a remarkable 4th place at Laguna Seca in his first international race.

It was immediately after Hayden won the 2002 AMA Championship that he was offered a ride on the prestigious Repsol Honda MotoGP team, alongside reigning world champion Valentino Rossi.  The Kentucky Kid jumped at the opportunity, and rode a brilliant first season, finishing in 5th overall and securing the Rookie-of-the-Year award. Two years later, he would finish in third.

In a mirror repeat from his time in AMA Superbike, Hayden would rise from a third place finish to usurp the reigning champion.  Hayden’s 2006 World Championship victory would come in the final round, when Valentino Rossi fell in the 5th lap.  Now-teammate Dani Pedrosa would wave Hayden past him early on in that race, and the Kentucky Kid would finish in 3rd to claim the championship, 252 points to Rossi’s 247.

Hayden’s championship is remarkable in two ways.  Firstly, he defeated Rossi, who hadn’t lost a championship since 2000.  But less brilliantly, it was his performance next year which also earned him a place in the history books; as reigning World Champion, Hayden finished in 8th overall, the worst defense of a title in MotoGP history.

Hayden would finish 2008 in 6th place in a year that was filled with bitter resentment between the reigning world champion and his team, who quickly began to favor teammmate Dani Pedrosa, whose performances were more consistant, and much better.  He announced that he would be riding for the Marlboro Ducati team in 2009 alongside Casey Stoner.

Hayden’s performance this year has been less than everyone hoped, but he’s been showing solid improvements on the Ducati, which has earned a demonic reputation for being impossible to ride.  Hayden has also done a large deal of promotional work at Ducati, including a lot of PR  for the special edition Nicky Hayden 848 Superbike, which has sold well since its release on July 4th, 2009.

Hayden’s future in MotoGP is uncertain, but one thing is clear: The Kentucky Kid is adamant about staying at Ducati and continuing to ride in MotoGP.  Where he ends up is a discussion for Silly Season, but a strong close to the 2009 season would help Hayden with any offers that may be made.

The Kentucky Kid in the Ducati Garage at Brno

This tiny racer from the Repsol Honda team has quickly risen to the level of skill and stardom that puts him amongst Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, but this Spaniard stands out from his two #1 factory rivals in one key regard: he’s never won a championship.  Daniel, or Dani, Pedrosa has two championships in the 250s and one in the 125s, and from his first race in the 800s showed that despite his small stature, he could contend with the top racers.

Pedrosa’s career in the big league started with a 2nd place showing, and he went on to win his first race just three races later.  For the first half of his rookie season, Pedrosa looked like he could take first in the championship and upset both dominant veteran Valentino Rossi and then-#1 Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden.  However, the second half of his season started a long string of injuries that would continue to plague him throughout the rest of his MotoGP career.

Quite possibly the most notable of his falls came in 2008 during the German Grand Prix in the Saschenring.  Leading the race by a large margin, Pedrosa suffered a massive highside out in the wet and had to be taken away from the track on a stretcher.  The injury effectively ended his championship chances that year, leading the way for Valentino to take the title.

The effects of the Saschenring crash carried with Pedrosa through the rest of the 2008 season and persisted even into the start of 2009.  It wasn’t until the Laguna Seca race this year that he returned to the top of the podium, ending a year long drought for both Pedrosa and Honda.  While his return to peak performance may have come too late to win the 2009 Rider’s Cup, he’s shown that his skill and perseverance cannot be quashed by any injury he may suffer.  Keep an eye on Dani in 2010, where he’ll surely make the Championship standings even more interesting than ever before.

Dani Pedrosa

Casey Stoner reaches the crest of a hill during the 2009 German Grand Prix

Casey Stoner has been racing since he was a young lad growing up in Australia. Racing dirtbikes from the age of four, Stoner quickly became a dominant force in the youth dirtbike scene in Australia, winning almost 50 titles in 5 years. Once he turned 14, his family moved to England so he could start road racing (you have to be 16 to road race in Australia).

He made his debut in MotoGP back in 2001, racing in the 125s for 4 years before making the jump up to the 250cc class. His one year in the intermediate class was impressive, taking 2nd overall. However, when he made the switch over to MotoGP in 2006, he had never won a title in any MotoGP class.

That would soon change. After a decent rookie year, Stoner moved to the Ducati Marlboro team in 2007, taking the world championship title in dominant force, finishing over 100 points above second place Dani Pedrosa in the standings. This dominant tour de force established Stoner as a heavy contender for years to come; in 2008, he finished 2nd behind Valentino Rossi, and has at times led the standings in this year’s championship.

Stoner has further asserted his skill through his mastery of the Ducati Desmosedici, a bike that has in recent years established itself as a career ender. Stoner’s performance on the powerhouse of a bike shows his skills as a rider and as a competitor, and you can expect to see him pushing the envelope for seasons to come.

Stoner’s personal life has always been at least partially in the spotlight. The Australian met his wife, Adriana, during the Australian Grand Prix back in 2003. The two are now married, and can frequently be seen together in the paddock or on the starting grid. The couple now reside in Switzerland during the off-season.

Jorge Lorenzo speeds through the track at Assen

Lorenzo is the youngest rider to take a podium in his first three races in the premier class, taking that honor away from fellow Spanish racer and bitter rival Dani Pedrosa by a single day. Pedrosa and Lorenzo’s rivalry is well known and well documented, with the two spaniards frequently taking shots at each other during press conferences. Lorenzo, who is a year younger than Pedrosa, battled with his elder in the 125cc and 250cc classes, and Lorenzo stole another milestone away from Pedrosa, becoming the winningest Spaniard to race in the lower classes, with two victories more than Pedrosa.

Lorenzo rides on the Fiat Yamaha team, where teammate and 6 time world champion Valentino Rossi has come to be his chief rival this year. So far in the 2009 season, Lorenzo has taken a podium in every race he’s finished–with a crash in Jerez being the only absence. However, a fierce highside during qualifying in Laguna Seca has left him injured, with a partially dislocated shoulder and injuries in his right foot. Despite the pain, Lorenzo went on to take third in Laguna, challenging Rossi for second towards the end of the race.

A hilarous promotional video put out by Yamaha Racing, in which all of the Yamaha riders take up jobs around the office. In truly comedic fashion, Jorge takes up the menial job of janitor, completely decked out in janitor regalia with the name ‘George’ emblazoned on the shirt. The video has caused some fans (myself included) to begin referring to Lorenzo as The Janitor, a nickname that–if the video is any indication–he would jokingly hate. All jokes about Lorenzo cleaning up the competition aside, this Spaniard is certainly a rising star, and one who will challenge for the championship for many seasons to come.

The Janitor hard at work at Yamaha Motors USA

To start off our series helping new fans get to know the MotoGP riders, we take a look at The Doctor, the one and only Valentino Rossi.

Valentino Rossi in parc fermé

The current point leader in the championship standings, Rossi already has 6 championships to his name in the premier class, winning in ‘01, ‘02, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, and last year in 2008. The Italian is widely loved throughout the sport, not just for his skill but also for his charm and his unique superstitions.

Rossi’s aloof and charming attitude off of the track changes dramatically the moment he steps out onto the tarmac. From his rigorous and strict pre-race rituals to his brilliance in controlling his bike and overtaking opponents, Rossi shows that he’s no goofball when the pressure is on.

Rossi currently rides on the Fiat Yamaha team, where he has resided since the 2004 season. His teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, trails Rossi by just 9 points in the championship standings. As the season continues to unfold, expect to see even more intense battles between Rossi and his championship rivals: Jorge Lorenzo (FIAT Yamaha), Casey Stoner (Ducati) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda). While Dani Pedrosa may be out of title contention this year, he’ll be sure to contend with Rossi for more victories as this year continues.

Rossi speeds through the corkscrew at Laguna Seca