MotoGP Preview: GP Of Czech Republic - August 13, 2009

U.S. TV: MotoGP: 6-7 p.m. (ET), Sunday, Aug. 16, SPEED. 250cc: 2-3 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 16, 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 tied for 13th in the MotoGP standings after 10 races this season.

•Colin Edwards: “I’ve never really had a result worth a damn there (Brno), be it in Superbike or MotoGP. I’ve always thought of myself as a good chicane rider, but there it’s just chicane after chicane after chicane. We’ll have to change that this year. It’s about momentum. I don’t know about shortening the bike up. Usually you shorten it up, and your mid-corner speed might drop a little bit. We might run with what we’ve got. What we had at Donington seemed to be in the right direction. I think we got some more information, as well. I need to get to where I’m not sitting so much on the front of the bike. I need to get more in it and comfortable.”

•Nicky Hayden: “Last season I was unable to race at Brno because I was injured, but it’s a great track which was completely resurfaced last year, so I expect it will be much better in terms of the lumps and bumps. At least this year I will find out, having spent the break at home in Kentucky preparing myself for the second half of the year, and not taking part in things like the X Games! I can’t wait to get back on track and score some results, which will make my team happy. I hope Casey (Stoner) can get better over the next few weeks because we all know how quick he is when he is fit. In the meantime, I need to try to make progress with the team and try to make sure that they don’t miss him too much.”

THEY SAID IT: “When I took the call, I could hardly believe it. But then I talked to my manager, and I realized it was true.” – Ducati Team rider Mika Kallio, talking about replacing the ill Casey Stoner for the next three races

FAST FACTS: This is the final event before the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 28-30 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway … 2007 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner will not compete at this event, the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 28-30 or the Grand Prix of San Marino on Sept. 4-6 due to illness. Stoner has been plagued by severe fatigue since early June. Pramac Racing Team rider Mika Kallio will replace Stoner, while Ducati World Superbike rider Michel Fabrizio is taking Kallio’s place at Pramac … LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet will compete this weekend despite suffering a broken ankle in a motocross accident two weeks ago during the MotoGP summer break … Six-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi scored his first Grand Prix victory at Brno, in 1996 in the 125cc class … Defending Red Bull Indianapolis GP champion Valentino Rossi has won four of his nine starts at Brno in the premier class (500cc, MotoGP) … The British Grand Prix on July 26 featured two satellite-team riders on the podium for the first time in the 800cc era of MotoGP, which started in 2007. Colin Edwards of Yamaha Tech 3 finished second and Randy De Puniet of LCR Honda MotoGP represented satellite teams behind winner Andrea Dovizioso, who rides for the factory Repsol Honda Team … Colin Edwards extended Yamaha’s streak of consecutive podium finishes in MotoGP to 28 races with his second-place finish at the British Grand Prix on July 26. It’s the longest streak in the premier class for Yamaha since its riders scored 40 consecutive podium finishes from 1989-91 … American Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP World Champion, finished third at Brno in 2007. It is his only podium finish at this circuit … American Cameron Beaubier will continue his first season in the 125cc class at this event. Beaubier, 16, from Roseville, Calif., is tied for 26th in the World Championship standings this season for the Red Bull KTM 125 factory team.