With the curtain-raiser at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar just days away, we run the rule over eight of the stars expected to light up the tarmac.
Dani Pedrosa (Spain) – Honda
GEPA Pictures/Gold & Goose
Third overall in 2009, Dani will be hoping he can go one maybe even two stages better. Perhaps a change in numbers will help the Spaniard in 2010. Reverting back to 26 – the number he used when he first entered Moto GP – the 24-year-old is hoping to offer a concerted challenge to the dominance of Valentino Rossi.
Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) – Honda
GEPA Pictures/Gold & Goose
A team-mate of Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso starts his second season as a Repsol Honda driver hoping to improve on last year’s sixth place overall. The 24-year-old, who made the step up to Moto GP in 2008, won his first race in July of last year, coming first in the British Moto GP at Donington Park.
Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha
Yamaha Racing
What more can you say about Valentino Rossi that hasn’t already been said? If you’re reading this the chances are you already know that he’s won a total of nine championships, including each of the last two. Six wins last year saw him finish comfortably ahead of Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. The 31-year-old is quite simply the man to beat – if that’s possible!
Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha
Yamaha Racing
No-one knows more about Rossi's qualities than last year's runner-up. 22-year-old Lorenzo, who hails from the Balearic Islands, made his 2008 top-level debut at Sunday's venue but his chances of success this year have been severely hampered by injury. Lorenzo has been sidelined recently with a fractured hand and he has admitted he is struggling ahead of the big race.
Casey Stoner (Australia) – Ducati
GEPA Pictures/Gold & Goose
A real challenger to Rossi, Casey Stoner has his eyes firmly set on a second world championship having achieved his first and, so far, only title in 2007. The 24-year-old has won all three season-opening races in Qatar since it was introduced to the calendar in 2007 and another flying start could see Stoner on a roll.
Mika Kallio (Finland) – Ducati
GEPA Pictures/Gold & Goose
After finishing third in the KTM 250cc class in 2008, Kallio made the move to Moto GP and is now preparing for his second season in the premier class. Competing for Ducati's satellite team Pramac Racing, the 27-year-old finished 15th overall, with a seventh place achieved at the San Marino Grand Prix in September his best result so far.
Nicky Hayden (USA) – Ducati
Rbnlsn/Flickr
The 28-year-old 'Kentucky Kid' is hoping for a much-improved showing in 2010 having finished a disappointing 13th last time out. Hayden has one championship win to his name and, while he is unlikely to add another this time around, Ducati had no hesitation in signing up the 2006 winner for another year alongside Casey Stoner.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) – Honda
GEPA Pictures/Gold & Goose
The older brother of former 250cc and World Superbike rider Shuhei Aoyama, Hiroshi became the last winner of the 250cc World Championship in 2009 before it was replaced by the Moto2 class in 2010. Preparing for his first season of Moto GP, just like his team, Interwetten Honda, the 28-year-old is certainly 'one to watch'.
The 2010 Moto GP gets underway this Sunday. For more build-up to the big day, visit motogp.com
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