MotoGP: Everyone on track at Laguna Seca on Sunday except Lorenzo and Pedrosa... or maybe not, will they be there too?

The Sachsenring weekend began with two protagonists in the fight for the title, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, but after the three days on German soil everything changed: the fight for the MotoGP crown, in addition to the two riders mentioned above, also involves Marc Marquez, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi.

The Honda rookie is not only among the favourites, but is now actually leading with a two-point margin over his team mate Dani Pedrosa. Of course, this upheaval of the championship is only due to the fact that both Pedrosa and Lorenzo were both incredibly injured in the three days on the Sachsenring toboggan, forcing them to miss the race. This zero in the standings proved to be very serious because now the two-man racing world championship has become a group race. Now, however, the top 5 riders in the standings all have one zero each and with ten races to go anything can happen.

Marc Marquez certainly appears to be the number one favorite right now, also because he is in the lead and unlike his closest pursuers Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, he is in full form while they don't even know if they will be on track at Laguna Seca next weekend. Officially the two have stated that they will not be there, although, above all Lorenzo will do everything he can to return immediately so as not to lose any more points in the standings. To confirm this rumor that was already circulating in the paddock yesterday afternoon, this morning the Yamaha team also sent the Majorcan's motorbike and material in the crates for Laguna Seca. His teammate Valentino Rossi also stated that Lorenzo will almost certainly be on the track on Sunday also to take advantage of Pedrosa's injury on Saturday. Wilco Zeelemberg, the Majorcan's team manager, stated that it is normal for the material to be sent to Laguna Seca and that Lorenzo will not be at that race, but knowing Jorge's never tamed character the stop is not so obvious.
And if Jorge returns immediately, what will Dani do at that point, will he stay and watch or shorten his rest time too?

Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi seem to have fewer title chances, the first because he still rides a satellite motorbike, even if in reality every Sunday he is there to sell his leather dearly, despite the fact that he races for a private team against the factory riders. The Tech3 team driver has matured a lot this year, he manages his limits well and is always a tough customer for everyone, even if so far of the top 5 he is the only one who has not yet managed to win a race in MotoGP.

The one in most difficulty in this quintet seems to be the most successful, Valentino Rossi. In fact, the Pesaro native is still recovering after two very tough years in Ducati and after 8 races he is still looking for the best setup, the one that gives him the right confidence throughout the race to enter the corners as strongly as possible. Up until now he has only found the right feeling in Assen and he immediately put everyone else in line there, but he certainly needs to improve his team's working method to always get on the track at their best because the other "terrible kids" certainly don't let themselves be intimidated by the mind-boggling numbers of the #46, 106 victories in MotoGP and 180 podiums, including yesterday's.

Photos: Alessandro Giberti