Casey Stoner could be forgiven to have his mind on other things but the tough Australian showed enormous concentration and resolve to grab pole position for the Parts Europe Grand Prix of Valencia in Spain this afternoon. On Monday Stoner tests the 2009 Marlboro Ducati in Valencia before leaving for Italy where on Thursday he will have an operation on his damaged left wrist that will keep him out of action for two and a half months.
James Toseland returns to the MotoGP fray at Mugello determined to erase memories of his Le Mans crash and get down to some serious points scoring. The 27 year old Yorkshireman has never raced at the legendary Italian venue but that’s nothing new this season for the Tech 3 Yamaha rider who has at least ridden round the track on a superbike but never in a race. He’s made a tremendous start to his MotoGP career and it was only his tangle with Andre Dovizioso in France that has dropped him to ninth place in the title chase after five rounds. Seventeen year old Bradley Smith arrives in Mugello full of confidence after his second place in the 125 cc race at Le Mans. It was an important result for the Polaris World Aprilia rider after he’d crashed out in Portugal and China. With four races in the next five weeks he must keep up with those podium finishes to improve on his eighth place in the Championship.