Aragon: Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo will once again be taking the fight to Repsol Honda Team’s championship leader Marc Marquez, as he keeps trying to chip away at the rookie’s 34-point lead.
And the stage for this will see both riders in front of their home crowd at the Gran Premio IVECO de Aragon in Spain.
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 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 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 braking stability problems at the post-Misano 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, whilst Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista and Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl will look to take the fight to the factory riders once more. A notable change in the ranks is that Yonny Hernandez, who has ridden for PBM this season, will contest the race on Ben Spies’ Ignite Pramac Ducati – the American still out due to injury.
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.
Sadly, Cardion AB Motoracing rider Karel Abraham will be out for the rest of the season due to his damaged shoulder, which is being operated on. He will be replaced by Italian rider Luca Scassa. Elsewhere in the CRT field, Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro aims to make up for his jump-start last time out in Misano and once again take top CRT spot in Parc Ferme, which went to NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards in San Marino.
In the Moto2 contingent all eyes will be on Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro as he chases down championship leader Scott Redding.
Marc VDS Racing’s Redding still has a 23-point gap to Espargaro at the top, though will be looking to improve over his Misano performance, which saw the Brit struggle somewhat on his Kalex. agencies
