After a four-week break, the MotoGP championship takes to the tar again this weekend as the teams and riders resume racing at the Czech circuit in Brno.
After a four-week break, the MotoGP championship takes to the tar again this weekend as the teams and riders resume racing at the Czech circuit in Brno.
That there are seven races remaining this season is not all that important anymore, since defending champion Valentino Rossi, riding for Yamaha, holds a virtually unassailable lead of 120 points.
The Italian rider has dominated the first ten races of the season, only suffering defeat twice after the Hondas of Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden got the better of him in Portugal and the US.
The battle for the runner-up position is much more interesting, where compatriot Marco Melandri continues to cling to second-place on the log, despite two falls in the last three races. However, Melandri’s poor luck has allowed his Movistar Honda team-mate Sete Gibernau to creep to within one point of him, as both riders look to repeat previous Brno victories.
The competition remains tight, with only three points separating the second to fifth-placed riders. Rossi’s team-mate, Colin Edwards, is fourth, while his long-time rival, Max Biaggi is fifth for Repsol Honda. Both Gibernau and Biaggi have amazing records at the Czech circuit, where the enjoyed a masterful victory over Rossi last year.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Shinya Nakano has been in striking form this season and is currently ninth in the championship as he returns to the circuit were he won the 250cc race five years ago.
John Hopkins also makes his return this weekend after an operation on his broken left foot, following his high-speed fall in Germany. Hopkins and his Suzuki team-mate, Kenny Roberts, will be joined at Brno by a third rider, as former 250 cc grand prix race winner, Nobuatsu Aoki, makes a wild-card appearance for the team.
Bad news for Shane Byrne is that the Brit will not race this weekend after KTM ceased its engine supply to the Proton team with immediate effect. Byrne holds a contract with KTM, and looks set to be replaced by his compatriot, Jeremy McWilliams, on Proton’s 2004 machine.