Moto GP / Trent Burton / 04 July 2009 / 1 Comments

Just a week after Valentino Rossi's Assen victory, the MotoGP circus heads to California for round eight...

Previously in MotoGP
Valentino Rossi waltzed home in Assen and now leads the title by five points. That victory was the 100th in one of sport's all time great careers. To put that in perspective if you add up the career victories of the next five riders in the championship - Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso, Dani Pedrosa and Colin Edwards - you get a total of 87 wins. Yep, Rossi has won 13 more GPs than the next five best riders in the world combined. The man is. Hell, he's only won 20 less races than Stoner has actually started! Lorenzo had to settle for second in Holland and Stoner, still suffering from a mystery virus, fought bravely for third.

The Circuit: Laguna Seca
Set in the Californian hills, Laguna is the shortest track on the calendar yet also one of the most physically demanding with no real straights, rider fitness is key. Furthermore Laguna is rather treacherous and there are no more spectacular sights in motor-sport than the MotoGP bikes pouring into the famous corkscrew here. Until last year this was one of the few tracks where Rossi had never won but he ended that run after an epic battle with Stoner. Ducati's Stoner won in 2007 and new team-mate Nicky Hayden took the flag in '05 and '06 but it's impossible to see how he has any chance of repeating that feat this weekend as he still struggles with the Italian machine.

The Championship Contenders
Sticking with tradition, Rossi will enter the race favourite at [1.84]. He was quickest on Friday, is in great form at the moment and is looking as relaxed as ever. He certainly won't have it all his own way, but it's hard to see past him for the win. That said, Laguna is a track where anything can, and often does, happen. For that reason it's impossible to discount Lorenzo. No doubt he will be on Rossi's heels and at [5.0] for the win represents some really good value. Stoner looks great on paper at [4.5] at a track he loves but until he can shake his illness I just can't back him, especially on a track like Laguna. Despite that, he was third quickest on Friday saying the bike felt great and he knew he could go even faster but adding, "It is hard for the doctors because I don't have any symptoms until I am physically tired, at which point I go rapidly down the other side of the hill". If he's fit, he can win it, no question. If not, he'll find it nigh on impossible to keep pace with the Yamahas.

The Pursuing Pack
Chris Vermeulen always goes well here. It's the only track where he's achieved a podium finish in the dry, doing so for the last two years. He's well worth a bet at [6.4] to make it a rostrum hat-trick. Dovizioso also impressed in his debut here last year with a fourth and will be keen to avenge a crash in Assen with a good result here. A first top three result of the season for the Italian, especially with Stoner's fitness in question, is well worth a look at [5.1].

The Last Word
Remember, being the US, the race will be on Sunday evening instead of the usual afternoon slot. When the flag drops I'm expecting another Fiat Yamaha show until the docs can sort Stoner out. I'm going with a third Rossi win on the trot followed home by Lorenzo and Dovi.