Next Stop: Indianapolis

Here’s what we know heading into Event #14 on the MotoGP circuit at the Brickyard on September 14:

Rossi is the man. By far, the best rider out there this year. He is going to be hard to beat for the title, which is not to say he may not be beatable at the IMS. The long main straight at IMS has got to favor Ducati, whether it’s Stoner or the new guy, Toni Elias. And some people wonder whether Stoner is big enough physically to handle that bike of his, which he’s laid down twice in the last two races. The two Spaniards, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, crossed the line between bravery and recklessness more than once and are paying for it with their fractures. They’ll be back, as fast and dangerous as ever, and soon.

World Championship Standings after 13 events:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Points
1	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	237
2	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Marlboro Team	187
3	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	172
4	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	120
5	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	JiR Team Scot MotoGP	110
6	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Tech 3 Yamaha	102
7	Chris VERMEULEN	AUS	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	99
8	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Repsol Honda Team	84
9	Shinya NAKANO	JPN	San Carlo Honda Gresini	83
10	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	77
11	James TOSELAND	GBR	Tech 3 Yamaha	75
12	Toni ELIAS	SPA	Alice Team	66
13	Alex DE ANGELIS	RSM	San Carlo Honda Gresini	49
14	Sylvain GUINTOLI	FRA	Alice Team	42
15	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	Ducati Marlboro Team	41
16	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	40
17	John HOPKINS	USA	Kawasaki Racing Team	37
18	Anthony WEST	AUS	Kawasaki Racing Team	33
19	Ben SPIES	USA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	10
20	Jamie HACKING	USA	Kawasaki Racing Team	5
21	Tadayuki OKADA	JPN	Repsol Honda Team	2

Brno Results:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Total time
1	V. ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	43’28.841
2	T. ELIAS	SPA	Alice Team	+ 15.004
3	L. CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	+ 21.689
4	S. NAKANO	JPN	San Carlo Honda Gresini	+ 25.859
5	A. WEST	AUS	Kawasaki Racing Team	+ 29.465
6	C. VERMEULEN	AUS	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	+ 30.608
7	M. MELANDRI	ITA	Ducati Marlboro Team	+ 36.453
8	A. DE ANGELIS	RSM	San Carlo Honda Gresini	+ 36.750
9	A. DOVIZIOSO	ITA	JiR Team Scot MotoGP	+ 38.822
10	J. LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	+ 39.573
11	J. HOPKINS	USA	Kawasaki Racing Team	+ 39.610
12	S. GUINTOLI	FRA	Alice Team	+ 40.892
13	J. TOSELAND	GBR	Tech 3 Yamaha	+ 1’11.490
14	C. EDWARDS	USA	Tech 3 Yamaha	+ 1’21.133
15	D. PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	+ 1’37.038
16	R. DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	+ 1’38.407
DNF
	C. STONER	AUS	Ducati Marlboro Team	16 Lap

Rossi winning at Brno. Courtesy of motogp.com

Here is motogp.com’s report on the race at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday August 17:

Valentino Rossi once again benefited from Casey Stoner´s misfortune for a second consecutive MotoGP victory, crossing the finish line first at the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky. The Fiat Yamaha rider´s win –coupled with an early crash from his title rival- increased his lead to 50 points in the standings and dealt a crucial strike to his World Championship chances.

Stoner was caught by surprise on the sixth lap when out at the front. He had over a second of advantage over Rossi after taking the holeshot, but slipped his front wheel out on the new Brno asphalt and was lowsided into the gravel. It was Stoner´s first DNF since his joining the Ducati Marlboro team for the 2007 season.

Ducati were, however, represented on the podium in the Czech Republic, courtesy of Alice Team rider Toni Elias. The Spaniard had experienced problems on the sighting lap –a sign that did not bode well for his race- but burst through the 800cc stars ahead of him from thirteenth on the grid. His second place marks the first podium for both he and his satellite team in 2008, and he became only the second satellite rider to step onto the rostrum this year.

Another podium first came from Loris Capirossi, as the veteran made his maiden appearance on the rostrum for Rizla Suzuki. The Italian had taken off from the end of the third row, but showed that there was still life in his MotoGP career by making Suzuki the fourth manufacturer with which he had taken a top three finish in the premier class.

Shinya Nakano paid back Honda for their decision to supply him with a factory spec RC212V for the remainder of the season, giving an immediate return with fourth place for San Carlo Honda Gresini. The Japanese rider was the highest placing rider for the manufacturer, with Michelin-shod factory man Dani Pedrosa way down in fifteenth place.

Riding for his future in MotoGP, Anthony West had the best result of his premier class career onboard the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR. The Australian came home fifth after a superb ride, holding off fellow countryman Chris Vermeulen.

Marco Melandri finished seventh in a race that will do much to aid his cause, whilst the top ten was completed by Alex de Angelis, Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo. The latter two were the only Michelin riders amongst the first ten past the line.

Tags: casey stoner, Chris Vermeulen, Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Loris Capirossi, Nicky Hayden, Sport, Toni Elías, valentino rossi

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Late-Braking MotoGP