Brno, Czech Republic - Australia’s Casey Stoner is looking to extend his lead in the MotoGP standings in Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix in Brno and add one more success to his five victories in this year’s 10 races.
Bolstered by victory in the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca on July 24, before a three-week summer break, Honda rider Stoner will seek to repeat his only Brno win from 2007, the year in which he won his only world championship title.
“It’s a circuit I’ve always enjoyed and I believe with the results we’ve had in the past years we can expect to have a good race there,” Stoner told the MotoGP Web site.
But he will face tough competition from last year’s winner, Spanish Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, second in the overall standings, on the 5.403-kilometer circuit about 180 kilometers southeast of the Czech capital Prague.
“The fact that it’s very fast and flowing has helped the Yamahas in the past seasons and I think Jorge will be strong there, so I will be watching for him,” the 25-year-old Stoner said.
The Australian, who came in third in Brno last year behind his Spanish teammate Dani Pedrosa, is now on 193 points in the overall standings, 20 points ahead of defending world champion Lorenzo.
“After the long break we are going to Brno completely recharged and ready to fight and try to reduce the gap to Casey,” Lorenzo said.
“This is a track I like and where I won last year. I hope we can start the second half of the season on the podium.”
Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso of Honda is third overall, 30 points behind Lorenzo but with a solid advance on his teammate Pedrosa. Italian Ducati rider Valentino Rossi, fifth overall, will come to Brno as the rider with the best record from the circuit with five MotoGP wins here.
The Brno circuit named after Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of former Czechoslovakia, was opened in 1987 to replace an old nearby track that became too dangerous for riders. Agence France-Presse
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com