Round eight of an 18-race series 50 points covers the top four riders, and a mere seven point margin separates Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) from current World Championship leader Valentino Rossi (Yamaha). This is looking like a long, hard season for riders and a riveting year for the fans. Dani comes to Donington fresh off the back of a win in his hometown of Barcelona and his second triumph in Spain this season. He has only missed the podium once in those first seven races a feat also matched by Rossi. No surprise then that this lead duo heads third overall man Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) by 41 points. Lorenzo failed to finish in Italy and was advised against riding in Catalunya after suffering a heavy practice fall. Dani himself crashed while testing Honda’s pneumatic-valve engine at the Montmelo track after the race, and despite injuring his upper back he is fit to ride here this weekend. Dani won here on a 250 in 2004 and he tasted triumph again in 2006 in the MotoGP class. He also holds the outright lap record and the race lap record here he knows what it takes to put together a race-winning package at this challenging track. But reigning World Champion Casey Stoner won here in his title season and with points to claw back on Rossi and Pedrosa, the Aussie will be determined to set the pace early on and establish the sort of domination he managed in 2007. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V), possibly powered by Honda’s new pneumatic-valve engine, will be out to stop him. Nicky has not yet recaptured the form that earned him the 2006 MotoGP crown, but the genial American has been greatly encouraged by the potential of the latest Honda engine unit and if factory engineers are satisfied with the engine, the Kentucky Kid could start Sunday’s 30-lap race with it. Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V), who rode to a strong fourth place at Barcelona, matching his fourth in the opening race in Qatar, has won here twice; on a 125 and on a 250. In a rich vein of form in his rookie season, Dovi has the talent to spring a proper surprise here. Although Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) has not so far shown the results expected, his qualifying performances have hinted that he is capable of more in a race. A front row start in Catalunya augured well, but the Frenchman fell. A change of fortunes in Britain would be welcomed. Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) is another rider who has shown flashes of speed, his fourth place at Mugello just a hint of what he might be capable of in the premier class. His team-mate Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) endeavours meanwhile to recover his early-career form in the class. Many riders have a great deal of affection for Donington Park. It’s a track that rewards competitors who relish fast, open, sweeping turns. And even if the somewhat stilted Melbourne Loop section of the track spoils the rhythm and flow, it still provides drama as riders endure three bouts of heavy braking towards the end of a lap. The dramatic downhill fifth-gear Craner Curves are the high point of a Donington lap. This section of the track requires bravery and inch-perfect commitment to a line and if a rider struggles to come to terms with these turns, a fast lap is but a distant hope. Donington demands two main machine characteristics that are hard to provide simultaneously. Stability on the brakes and quick turn-in are required for the Esses and Melbourne Loop sections while perfect high-speed manners are needed for the rest of this 4.023km track. Some riders opt for stability in the knowledge that a fast lap time will be dictated by speed over the flowing first three-quarters of the track, others prefer to have a bike set up to perform well under braking where places can be won and lost in the final three turns. Good acceleration is also vital while top speed is slightly less of an issue than at other GP circuits. Dani said: “Winning in Catalunya was great but there are still many races to go, we have to keep pushing. I crashed the day after the race, hurting my back and shoulders, but I will be OK for Donington. It’s quite a strange circuit, quite smooth but not so grippy, and it often rains there. My favourite part of the track is the uphill section all the way to Coppice. I don’t like the last part, it’s very slow and tight. You need a set-up similar to Le Mans, so the bike accelerates hard and brakes well too. The atmosphere at Donington is different, not as Latin as the last two races. The crowd seems to be much more enthusiastic about motorcycling in general rather than just supporting individual riders.” Nicky said: “I’m quite excited about Donington. I hope I’ll be able to use the pneumatic-valve engine but we’ll see what the decision is we’ll go with what the team says. Going into a race weekend with new parts is never easy, so if we use the engine we’ll just try to learn as the weekend goes on and get it dialled in. The weather can be a big issue at Donington it can do anything. The track itself is almost like two tracks. The first bit is awesome you’ve got to be brave through Craner, you need some guts, because it’s pretty exciting down through there, I quite like it if the bike is working good. The last bit of the track is a lot of hard braking. No matter how good you hit the first part of the track, if you can’t get through the two little hairpins at the end of the lap it kills your lap times.” Dovi said: “It’s a great track, but on the MotoGP bike it’ll be very different from the smaller bikes, with the RC212V you won’t be on the gas quite as much! The track is in two parts: one flowing with fast corners, the other slow, with lots of hard braking areas. With the new bike it will be a little bit of an unknown. The track itself offers good grip in the dry but it’s very slippery when it’s wet. I’m ready for anything though, especially after our good result in Spain which has shown we’ve made a lot of progress.” De Angelis said: “In the post-race tests at Barcelona we worked really well once again the only question mark will be the weather. At Mugello and Montmelò we raced in hot conditions but at Donington the temperatures should be lower so we won’t know how the tyres will adapt until we’re out on track. We have to try and make sure we pick the right compound but I’m confident because I’m sure I’ll find something that suits my style. We’ll fit some new brakes, which are lighter and more powerful another weapon in the overtaking battles.” His team-mate Nakano said: “Donington is a unique track and difficult to understand, with lots of slow and tight corners. Also, the weather can change really quickly, from sunshine to rain, which can slow down your work on the track. I’m not satisfied with the results at Mugello and Barcelona: my target is higher than ninth place and I think we have the tools to do it. In the test after the race at Montmelò we managed to lower my lap times consistently and we also had the chance to test some new qualifying tyres, which could help us get a better position on the grid and a higher chance of challenging in the race.” De Puniet said: “Donington’s a very interesting track. It’s very technical and the straight (564m) isn’t very long. After the tests in Barcelona I’m more confident about this race as we’ve had very good results there and think we can be more competitive this weekend. In 2005 I won my 250cc race and last year I had the sixth place in MotoGP so I have good memories of this circuit.” 250cc Honda’s two runners in this class Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) and Ratthapark Wilairot (Stop And Go Racing RS250RW) will be aiming to make the most of their machines’ nimble handling and prodigious stability on the brakes. Takahashi managed a fourth last year, Wilairot eighth (his best result of the season). Takahashi said: “This year we’re in a position to do well at every racetrack. For various reasons we haven’t really made the most out of our potential and we need to regain some points in the Championship battle. Thinking back to Barcelona, the way I rode in the race confirms we’re in good shape. Donington isn’t easy to go fast at, but it has some quick turns and elevation changes and I’m comfortable on the track even in the rain. I’m confident of giving the team a great result this weekend.” Wilairot said: “I couldn’t finish well in Catalunya because of a bad pain in my back, and having to travel to Thailand again didn’t help me to recover. I visited a doctor in Bangkok to do some physiotherapy and I’m taking medicine, so I hope all this will help me ride comfortably at Donington. I like this track, we got our best result of the season here last year, and I think we can have another good race this weekend.” 125cc Rookie Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) mnakes his first visit to Donington Park and the 19-year-old hopes to continue a steep learning curve here. He said: “After Barcelona we need a better qualifying performance and I’ll have to be fast from the first day at a track I’ve not been to before. We’ll see what happens but I’m really looking forward to this race.”