Lorenzo keen for his dominance to continue

This weekend Barcelona plays host to the Catalan Grand Prix with championship leader Jorge Lorenzo keen to extend his winning streak.

Lorenzo has won the last two Grand Prix and has taken the flag in four of the six races so far this season. Last season in Barcelona he finished second to Valentino Rossi after the Italian’s audacious overtaking manoeuvre on the final corner of the race. This season though Lorenzo will be looking to go one better and add the MotoGP race win to his 2007 250cc victory at this circuit.

Lorenzo may be leading the championship charge but the home crowd will be cheering loudest for Barcelona born Dani Pedrosa. Since 2002 Pedrosa has finished on the podium here in all but two races, including winning three times. Pedrosa’s style of riding suits the fast and flowing Catalan circuit with the diminutive Spaniard capable of maintaining incredible corner speed through the incredibly fast turn 9 and the final two corners on the lap.

Former world champion Casey Stoner comes to Spain on the back of finally breaking his 2010 podium duck by finishing third in Assen behind Lorenzo and Pedrosa. Stoner has finished third here the last two years and was victorious in 2007 en route to his sole world title. The Australian has struggled this season after a spate of accidents but his form has improved in recent weeks with the podium in Assen the culmination of the work done by the team to make the current Ducati more suited to Stoners aggressive style of riding.

As usual beyond the big three it is difficult to forecast any rider challenging for the podium unless trouble besets the favourites. Pedrosa’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso has ridden well this season and currently lies in third in the title chase. The Italian has been consistent this season but knows that if he is to realistically challenge for the title he has to add to his sole premier class win in last season’s rain sodden British Grand Prix at Donnington. The 2004 125cc world champion has been fourth in Barcelona in both of his MotoGP starts at the circuit and has one win, in 2006, and three other podiums to back up his current consistency.

Randy de Puniet has been in great form recently and returns to the scene of his first ever Grand Prix victory looking to step onto the podium for the first time since the middle of last year. The Frenchman has qualified his satellite Honda on the front two rows of the grid at each race this season and after finishing in sixth place from second on the grid the last two weekends he will know that it is time for him to start converting his undoubted pace into stronger race performances. The LCR rider is well placed to do that in Barcelona and add another podium to his brace of 250cc victories at the circuit.

The MotoGP class may be the premier class of motorcycle racing but the Moto2 and 125cc classes are incredibly competitive and allow younger riders the chance to hone their craft before moving to the larger capacity bikes.

The Moto2 class features the most competitive racing in the world. The recent Italian Grand Prix was an example of just how intense this class is with the top 12 riders home all having won at least one Grand Prix.

The class is led by the Catalan Toni Elias who has failed to finish in Barcelona since finishing third in 2003. The Gresini rider has won twice this season and comes to Barcelona on the back of a runner up finish at the Dutch TT. Elias though will know that one of his main rivals will be the winner in Holland, Andrea Iannone. The Italian has won twice this season and each time he has shown that he is the only man right now capable of opening a large lead if he is left unchecked during a race. The 20 year old has won two races this season in the ultra competitive Moto2 class at a canter and his rivals know that if they are to deny Iannone the chance to add to his victory in Catalonia last season that he will need to be kept in check throughout the race.

Swiss rider Thomas Luthi came to prominence in the 2003 125cc race with his first Grand Prix podium and the former world champion has had a solid season thus far with three podiums to lie third in the title chase. This weekend though could be a struggle for Luthi after it was revealed that he needed surgery on a fractured collarbone that he had raced with for both podiums at Silverstone and Assen.

Shoya Tomizawa won the opening race of the season and followed it up with a podium at the Spanish Grand Prix but the young Japanese rider has been solid in recent races rather than spectacular as he was initially. Last season this race marked his best qualifying performance and this weekend could be a great opportunity for the Suter chassis shod rider to regain some of his early season momentum.

Julian Simon is the reigning 125cc world champion and has shown that even with the change to the larger capacity the Spaniard has lost none of his flair or speed. He has not stood on the rostrum in Barcelona before but with the increased confidence that he has shown since changing chassis manufacturer to the Suter it would not be surprising to see him add to his brace of podiums so far this year.

The 125cc class may be home to the smallest bikes in the paddock but it is also home to some of the talented and committed riders in the world. The home crowd are almost certain to see the Spanish flag above the winners step on the podium but their loyalties will be toward Pol Espargaro. Espargaro is as local as it is possible to be to the circuit having grown up just a stone throw away from the front gates and the Derbi rider will be keen to erase the memory of a disappointing race in Holland and retake the championship lead from compatriot Nico Terol.

Both riders though will be chasing another Spaniard, Marc Marquez. The young Derbi rider had not won a race until the start of June and has since emerged victorious at the Italian, British and Dutch races. Momentum is king in 125cc racing and the diminutive Marquez will know that with momentum on his side he needs to continue to close the gap on his countrymen at the top of the championship table.