Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo will once again be taking the fight to Repsol Honda’s championship leader Marc Marquez, as he keeps trying to chip away at the rookie’s 34-point lead in the MotoGP series. And the stage for this will see both riders in front of their home crowd at Aragon in Spain on Sunday.
Lorenzo has been the victor in the last two races, with Marquez, however, still keeping a tight grip on the championship by finishing a strong second on both occasions. The Yamaha rider knows his only option to retain the world title is to try and win all of the remaining five races, yet Marquez will be no easy challenge considering the form he’s in.
Looking to overhaul both is Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, who has been just slightly off the mark recently, citing tyre grip issues. Yet back to match fitness and on a track he won at last year, Pedrosa will still be one of the favourites for victory.
Valentino Rossi will be aiming to end his run of fourth-place finishes with another podium, after seemingly finding a better solution to his Yamaha’s braking stability problems at a recent test.
Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow will hope to get back to his form from earlier in the season that saw him on the podium numerous times, while Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl will look to take the fight to the factory riders once more.
The Ducati team, which had a double podium in Aragon back in 2010, would very much like to replicate such a performance, though is likely to struggle for such a result following the team’s current run. Nonetheless, riders Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden will be looking to squeeze the maximum out of the Desmosedici and battle with the satellite Yamahas and Hondas. -Star Motoring
World Championship Standings
1. Marc Marquez, SPA, Honda - 253
2. Jorge Lorenzo, SPA, Yamaha - 219
3. Dani Pedrosa, SPA, Honda - 219
4. Valentino Rossi, ITA, Yamaha - 169
5. Cal Crutchlow, GBR, Yamaha - 146