MotoGP Preview: GP Of Great Britain - July 24, 2009

EVENT: Grand Prix of Great Britain

WHERE: Donington Park, Castle Donington, England. Circuit is 2.5 miles (4.023 km), with 11 turns. Race is 30 laps.

WHEN: Sunday, July 26. It is the 10th of 17 events this season.

2008 RACE WINNER: Casey Stoner, by 5.789 seconds over Valentino Rossi

2008 POLE WINNER: Casey Stoner, 1 minute, 38.232 seconds

U.S. TV: MotoGP: 6-7 p.m. (ET), Sunday, July 26, SPEED. 250cc: 5-6 p.m., Sunday, July 26, SPEED.

THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Colin Edwards (Houston, Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Ducati Team) will compete in this race. Edwards is fifth and Hayden is 13th in the MotoGP standings after nine races this season.

•Colin Edwards: “It’s just a good track. They’ve got everything. Off-camber, positive camber, blind crests, brow of the hill. For me, it is a riders’ track. You’ve got the stop-start section right at the end, and then you’ve got the nice, smooth, just carry your momentum in the first eight or nine corners. It’s about two tracks in one. It’s a compromise, but at the end of the day, you can lose massive amounts of time in those hairpins. You kind of have to tune for hard braking.”

•Nicky Hayden: “I’ve never had amazing results at Donington, but I can’t wait to get back out on track because I’m not happy with the way the last race went after the really positive practice we had. My bike is really stable under braking, and that should be a real bonus at this circuit. Things have been going well lately. I’m having fun, and last weekend was the first time in a long while that I’ve been up front in practice. Seeing P1 unchanged on my pit board for such a long time was a nice feeling. We’ll see what the weather is like because you never know what to expect at Donington, and the track conditions are totally dependent on it.”

THEY SAID IT: “Unfortunately this year will be the last time that we race at Donington Park, and it’s a pity because the circuit is fascinating to ride. I like it, in particular the first section which is very fast, and of course the Craner Curves, which plunge downhill and take your breath away every time you ride them.” – Repsol Honda Team rider Andrea Dovizioso, talking about the move of the British Grand Prix from Donington Park to Silverstone in 2010

FAST FACTS: This will be the last British Grand Prix at Donington Park, as the race is moving to the Silverstone Circuit in 2010. The race has taken place at Donington every year since 1987 … Six-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi will set a record for Grand Prix podium finishes if he places in the top three at this event. Rossi has 159 podium finishes across all classes after his victory July 19 at the German Grand Prix, tied with fellow Italian legend Giacomo Agostini … Valentino Rossi has seven victories at Donington Park across all classes in his career, including five in MotoGP or 500cc … Donington Park is the most successful MotoGP circuit for American star Colin Edwards. He has five top-six finishes at the track, including second in 2004 and 2007. Two-time World Superbike champion Edwards won World Superbike races at Donington in 1999 and 2000 before moving to MotoGP in 2003 … American MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden has a best finish at Donington Park of fourth, in 2004 … James Toseland is the only British rider in the MotoGP field for his home race. No British rider has scored a podium finish in the premier class in the last 150 races, dating back to Jeremy McWilliams in 2000 at Donington Park … Only five riders have scored points in all nine MotoGP races this season: Casey Stoner, Colin Edwards, Marco Melandri, Chris Vermeulen and Alex de Angelis … Spanish MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa are bitter rivals, and it’s fascinating to see just how similar their results have been during their respective MotoGP careers. Lorenzo has a win ratio of 11.54 percent of his starts, Pedrosa 11.47. Lorenzo has finished on the podium in 53.8 percent of his starts, Pedrosa 52.5. Lorenzo has scored an average of 13.5 points per race, Pedrosa 13.3 … American Cameron Beaubier will continue his first season in the 125cc class at this event. Beaubier, 16, from Roseville, Calif., is tied for 25th in the World Championship standings this season for the Red Bull KTM 125 factory team.