Yet another twist to this turbulent MotoGP season as a familiar face makes an early return at the Sachsenring. But can he, and the other contenders, keep up with the flying Jorge Lorenzo in Germany this weekend?
Valentino Rossi
Yes, really. Despite still hobbling about on crutches with a broken right tibia, Vale is riding in Germany this weekend. So that’s why Fiat Yamaha didn’t replace him after the accident. Of course, in the relatively brief time Rossi’s been away from the series, his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo has legged it off into a 104pt championship lead over him, but the Italian multi-champion wouldn’t be back so soon unless he thought he could catch his younger rival up. We think that some kind of prize is in order just for making it to a MotoGP grid six weeks after breaking your leg.
Dani Pedrosa
The Honda RC212V has really improved as the 2010 season has gone on, and confidence is high in the Pedrosa camp after two consecutive second places and a well-earned mid-season break since Catalunya. The omens are also pretty good for the Sachsenring, with a win, an unlucky crash after leading and a podium in the last three years here for Dani. Friday practice today also saw the Spaniard finish top of the timesheets. This weekend’s hype will probably be all about championship leader Lorenzo and the returning Rossi, but that will suit Dani fine if he gets the job done and retains his second place in the championship standings.
Yamaha Racing
Andrea Dovizioso
Pedrosa’s Italian Honda team-mate is just one place adrift of him in the championship shake-up, and in theory the 24pt difference could see Dovi leapfrog Dani if he wins and Pedrosa fails to score points. This may seem unlikely, but this season has already seen plenty of ups and downs for everybody – for Dovizioso more than most. The Italian has registered four podiums so far this year, and it’s probably only Lorenzo’s blistering recent form that’s denied him a second win to go with his maiden victory last year at Donington in the British GP. Last time out in Catalunya, he fell after leading Jorge at one stage and finished 14th, but Dovizioso remains confident, and with the RC212V now a genuine racewinner again, why not?
Alex de Angelis
Italian Alex de Angelis may have thought his MotoGP days were behind him, but he finds himself promoted back from Moto2 to the Interwetten Honda ride in place of the injured Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama, whose crash at Silverstone two races ago left him with a fractured vertebra, with Interwetten’s reserve rider Kousuke Akiyoshi, who raced at Assen and Catalunya, relinquishing the stand-in role. Despite finishing today’s Friday practice session bang last, de Angelis was only 1.5 seconds behind fastest man Dani Pedrosa, and with a more aggressive set-up than Aoyama’s being worked on for the rest of the weekend, de Angelis will hope to make an impression in this race and the next at Laguna Seca – Hiro is scheduled to return for the Czech GP at Brno on August 15.
Casey Stoner
It was announced this week that Casey has agreed to an amicable split – no, not from wife Adriana, but from Ducati, his team for the last four years. The popular Australian is to join the works Honda team in 2011, but that doesn’t mean the 2007 World Champion has done with 2010 yet. Friday practice saw him top the timesheets until almost the bitter end when Dani Pedrosa just edged ahead on the same make of machine that Casey himself will soon be riding. Incidentally, the vacancy at Ducati has attracted speculation that it might be taken by a certain Italian six-time MotoGP champion. Watch this space…
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