Battle royal expected at Barcelona MotoGP

SPANISH MotoGP rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez, who are separated by only 10 points at the top of the championship log, head for their home race this weekend at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona.

Yamaha’s Lorenzo leads the points race with 115, and will look to make it three wins in a row this Sunday. Last time out in Italy the reigning champ led home Marquez by only 0.019 seconds – the closest premier class finish since 2011. Marquez, on the other hand, is aiming for the podium’s top step, a place the Honda man hasn’t stood since the Austin round in Texas early in April.

The sharp end of the field will likely feature more than just these two Spaniards however, as Valentino Rossi will aim for a decent comeback result after his Yamaha’s engine expired while challenging for the lead in Mugello. It was the second time this year that the popular Italian left a round with zero points, and because of it sits 37 points adrift of the championship lead.

Two more Spanish riders follow Rossi in the tables, with Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Maverick Viñales (Suzuki) on 66 and 59 points respectively. The dynamic Ducati Team duo of Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso could also throw a spanner in the leading pack’s works, with a pair of bikes which clearly aren’t short of power. Iannone managed to set a new top speed record in Mugello, hitting 354.9km/h during the race, and the Duke’s grunt should come in handy over Catalunya’s 1km straight.

South African Moto3 rider Brad Binder has not only finished on the podium at every race this year, but he’s won the past three rounds on the trot. The Red Bull KTM rider arrives in Spain with a handy 49 point lead over second placed Jorge Navarro, but will surely be under pressure from the Spaniard at his home event. Italian Romano Fenati is currently third in Moto3, 60 points back.