Moto GP Betting: Can anyone catch rejuvenated Stoner at Sachsenring?

Moto GP / Trent Burton / 10 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

One year ago Valentino Rossi boosted Casey Stoner's title lead by crashing out of the German Grand Prix while attempting to come back through the pack passing Randy De Puniet. One year on, and Rossi has given himself a savage case of deja vu.

It may have been one race earlier at Assen, but last time out Rossi threw Stoner a championship lifeline with an early race crash.

Just a month ago Stoner was out of it, his price for defending his title out to over [45.0]. He was 50 plus points behind and struggling with a bike that wouldn't listen to him.

In the last two races he has been unstoppable. The gap to championship leader Dani Pedrosa is 29 and just one race win to Rossi. He is [2.96] to defend his number one plate. Nine races down, nine to go. Now it gets really interesting.

This week the MotoGP series moves to the Sachsenring in Germany, a flowing circuit with a very tight front section making the first lap a right bottleneck.

With two victories in the 250cc class as well as a stomping victory in MotoGP last year, Dani Pedrosa has a fantastic record here. As is the case with nearly all his wins, he led from the lights and didn't need to pass anyone to win but his pace was very impressive. But it's also important to remember that in the race, Rossi was a faller and Stoner was suffering from a set of Bridgestones eating themselves up in the high temperatures at a track where the manufacturer has yet to taste victory.

That doesn't mean the pint sized Spaniard should be discounted this weekend. He has a point to prove to a lot of people, he loves the track and the Hondas have always done well here in the past taking all bar two of the victories recorded in the four stroke era. The other two wins, predictably, went to Rossi on his Yamaha. At [5.1] for the win, Pedrosa certainly offers enough value for a look.

Stoner is an unsurprising early favourite at [2.52]. He described the bike as perfect for the last two rounds which is a word you don't hear from a racer much. If the opposition weren't terrified by his pace in Holland they surely were when he removed his helmet to reveal that he wasn't even sweating.

But if there is anyone that is unflappable in the field, it's Rossi and his self-confessed stupid mistake of the last round will already be a distant memory. He is a worthy second favourite at [2.88].

Who knows what Colin Edwards would achieve if he could get through the first couple of laps at the pointy end? The last two races have seen him languishing out of the top 12 after a couple of laps before dialling himself in and running as quick, if not quicker, than the rest of the field, Stoner excluded. These charges have seen him net a fourth and a third and if he could stay in touch with the leaders early a first win at [25.0] or another podium at [2.24] are more than likely.

The one to watch is Jorge Lorenzo. Since Donington his confidence and pace have been slowly returning resulting in two late race surges which have seen him tally back to back sixths. I expect him to be a little down the sheets on the first day of practice which may see his price go out even further than [17.0], but if he can put the bike on the front two rows come Saturday afternoon, keep an eye on the young Spaniard.

The key point of interest this weekend will be to see whether the champ can extend his win streak to three. Can anyone else keep up with the rejuvenated Ducati? Clearly I'm only talking about the one Ducati here of Stoner because sadly the other factory Ducati seems to still be having trouble keeping up with a wonky shopping trolley and surely a market for 'When is Marco Melandri going to be ingloriously sacked and somewhat embarrassingly replaced by a bloke who retired two years ago' can't be too far off.

Casey is a polar opposite and well and truly back in the hunt. Rossi and Pedrosa may well be on the defensive and with Hayden and Lorenzo there are two guys who have nothing to lose. On Sunday they've got 30 laps to sort out the mess. Here's hoping it's a cracker.