The 2008 Moto GP season, which roars into action this weekend, promises to be one of the best ever. The key story will be the attempts of five-time champion Valentino Rossi to wrest the title from rising star Casey Stoner, last year's surprise winner. But with the graduation of World Superbike champion James Toseland there is major British interest, too.

first race is at qater, and it's the first ever moto gp night race. that's right, NIGHT RACE.

Pedrosa cruises to Jerez victory

- BBC Sport

Honda rider Dani Pedrosa took the championship lead after powering to victory in front of his home crowd at the Spanish MotoGP in Jerez.

Pedrosa, last year's championship runner-up, took the race lead early from second on the grid and finished ahead of Valentino Rossi.

Britain's James Toseland was pushed back into sixth on the final bend.

Jorge Lorenzo came third, as defending champion Casey Stoner finished 11th after twice running in to the gravel.

Pedrosa passed pole sitter Lorenzo on the first corner and was never seriously challenged in the rest of the race.

Pedrosa's first MotoGP win at Jerez comes less than three months after he broke his hand in a training crash.

"I'm very happy about the performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn't test so much," he said.

"To score good results in two complicated races and lead the championship is very important.

"I got a good start - not spectacular like in Qatar but effective - so I was able to take the lead."

Stoner was trying make up ground from the start, having begun the day seventh on the grid.

But his chances of a decent finish took a knock on lap three when he ended up in the gravel and was relegated to the back of the field.

By the end, he had battled his way through to 11th place but another misjudgement as he tried to pass Shinya Nakano and Chris Vermeuelen saw him end up in the gravel again.

Toseland's performance was all the more impressive as he was suffering from a chest infection, but afterwards he said he was pleased with his day's work.

"I've had easier races, I'm not too good but I want to thank the mobile clinic for pumping everything into me," he told BBC Sport.

"It's so frustrating as the bike's been working so well in pre-season - I was hoping for fifth place, better than in Qatar, but to equal that is great."

british super bike round at thruxton on the weekend, watch out for the "motorbike in the face" part, ouch

my boss had tickets to go this weekend, then didn't. i wish he'd have said (and given me the tickets that he wasn't going to use).

Rossi storms to victory in China

- BBC Sport

Valentino Rossi produced a faultless performance to clinch victory in the China MotoGP ahead of Dani Pedrosa.

The pair were dominant on a damp track and fought a fascinating battle throughout, but Rossi outpaced the Spaniard over the last few laps.

The win was the Italian Yamaha rider's first in eight races and announces his, and his team's, return to form.

World champion Casey Stoner was third, while Jorge Lorenzo, hampered by injury, came a stunning fourth.

Rossi's team-mate Lorenzo dug deep and rode bravely following his huge crash in practice on Friday which left him with a chipped left ankle bone.

Pedrosa's second place gave him the outright lead in the championship - seven points ahead of compatriot Lorenzo.

Pole-sitter Colin Edwards finished seventh after initially fighting for the lead with Rossi and Pedrosa but running wide and then losing pace as the race wore on.

His Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate, and Britain's sole MotoGP representative, James Toseland could only manage 12th.

Marco Melandri had his best result since joining Ducati, finishing in fifth place ahead of 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden.

The only person to retire from the race was Chris Vermeulen, who had clutch problems with his Rizla Suzuki.

Rossi's victory was his 62nd in the premier racing class and he celebrated by immediately pulling off the track, kissing his bike and then sitting on the barrier near the pits.

"I'm very, very happy. It's been a long time without victory," said Rossi, who last won in Portugal last season.

"I felt confident with my bike from the first lap. The start was not so bad and after I went in front I kept my rhythm. It was a great battle with Dani."

Rossi has struggled this season following his switch to tyre makers Bridgestone, but he seemed to have no issues in Shanghai.

Early heavy rains drenched the circuit but despite the threatening skies, the race was held in nearly dry conditions.

And Rossi added: "My rhythm was fantastic to the end, and I was able to ride the bike like I wanted, so it was a great victory."

Pedrosa admitted that Rossi had a little too much pace for him, and the Spaniard revealed he decided to settle for second.

"It was a hard race," he said. "At the end I just slowed down cause I saw that I could not get him."

Struggling defending world champion Stoner was not happy with his third place, and was even less happy with his choice of tyres.

"We were advised to go with a softer compound rear tyre, which basically after three laps just wasn't enough," said the Australian.

"I think we had reasonable race pace, and I think we would have been a lot faster. I don't think I would have been battling with them, but I think we would have been more relaxed in the race.

"I'm a little disappointed with today, we still have a lot more work to do. Hopefully in the next races we can improve this position."

"Jorge Lorenzo did superbly to finish in second place ahead of Colin Edwards, despite having two fractured ankles."

honest to god, wtf? lol

not a hugely exciting race, but nice to see rossi reap some rewards after the last couple of off seasons he's had.

that thing in the photo? that's his new helmet design... very weird to see a bike hurtling down the straight at 200mph with a big loony face staring at you from it.

chris said...Toseland was also pleased with his day's work, and the prospect of returning to the familiar surroundings of Donington for the next race.

"I can't wait to get up to Donington, it's hard work on these new tracks," he said.

"To qualify sixth and finish sixth is a good show but I really want to get close to the front.

"I'm going to be pushing so hard, I really want that podium place."

two weeks time.

nah - i'd prefer to get to a later / warmer one, somewhere like valencia, and make a holiday out of it

donny is just too far away to "pop up" and not really far away enough (warm) to make it worthwhile using up a wife-token to go watch it

There's also a F1 race in Valencia this year

Rossi claims maiden US MotoGP win

- BBC Sport

Valentino Rossi ended Casey Stoner's four-race winning streak to earn his first win at the Laguna Seca track after a thrilling US MotoGP.

In the last race before the summer break, the pair fought a fierce battle for the lead until Stoner was forced into the gravel with eight laps to go.

But they were so far ahead that he returned to the race still in second, ahead of third-placed Chris Vermeulen.

Rossi now leads nearest rival Stoner by 25 points in the championship table.

The Italian's Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is thought to have broken a bone in his foot after coming off in spectacular fashion early in the race.

The battle for the lead between Rossi and Stoner was the closest and most exciting there has been this season, but afterwards Stoner was clearly not entirely happy with the way it had been fought.

"I completely made the mistake, it was all my own (going off the track)", he told BBC Sport.

"But at the beginning of the race, with some of those overtaking moves, I was so nearly on the floor that it wasn't funny.

"I know it's hard racing, I've been in hard racing all my life, but some of that was past the point. I don't think it was necessary."

But Rossi was adamant he had done nothing wrong.

"This is racing, every overtake was very clear for me - I never touched him," he said.

"The reality is I am stronger in braking, so I try to use this advantage. I deserved it, I think he made the mistake alone - it happens."

Rossi now goes into the summer break with an entire race-worth of points advantage on Stoner, who is second in the championship standings, and Dani Pedrosa's failure to compete this weekend has all but ended his slim title hopes.

"It was a great weekend," said Rossi.

"These 25 points are like gold for our championship."

Briton James Toseland finished ninth, having been in seventh for much of the race, but he said he was glad to have improved on his recent poor run of form.

"I tried to keep those guys behind but I'd pretty much shot the rear tyre by the end," he told BBC Sport.

"The team's working well but we've had some problems behind the scenes which need to change for the next race.

"I've been riding round, nor racing round, and I don't like that. To be in the top 10 is nice but the potential is there to be a lot better."

The next round of the MotoGP championship is at Brno in the Czech Republic on 17 August.

Stoner crash gifts Rossi victory

- BBC Sport

Valentino Rossi was gifted victory in the Czech MotoGP after Casey Stoner crashed when he was comfortably ahead.

Rossi extended his championship lead over Stoner to 50 points with the win.

Reigning world champion Stoner was one second clear of Rossi when, under no particular pressure, he skidded into the gravel on lap six.

His Ducati was too badly damaged for him to continue and Rossi went on to win, ahead of Toni Elias in second and Loris Capirossi in third.

Afterwards, Stoner told BBC Sport he was not quite sure what had happened.

"You know as much as I do," he said. "The bike was moving round quite a bit but that one just caught me out. No excuses, no nothing - it just caught me out."

He also hinted at having almost given up hope of defending his world title after having lost out to Rossi for the second race in a row.

"It was a long shot for the season - we gave too many points away and we needed to win these races. We did the best we could, but it's on to the next one.

"We're going to keep fighting race by race. The championship is very difficult but five or six races ago we were way out of it, so we've just got to keep plugging away race by race."

Rossi said he thought Stoner might have been trying too hard to make up for the ground he lost in the title race, when Rossi triumphed in their epic duel at Laguna Seca.

"I am sorry for him that he crashed but sometimes you make mistakes, especially when you have to recover points in the championship," he said.

"I have a 50-point lead, but there are six races to the end. Now we have a great setting and understand the tyres better."

Rossi seals Indianapolis triumph

- BBC Sport

Valentino Rossi took another huge step towards the MotoGP world title as he made it four wins in a row at the rain-curtailed Indianpolis MotoGP.

Rossi extended his lead over defending champion Casey Stoner to 87 points after finishing ahead of Nicky Hayden.

The race, the first two-wheel championship race at the circuit in 99 years, was cut eight laps short because of heavy rain and strong wind.

Stoner finished fourth, behind Rossi's Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

Rossi passed Hayden on lap 14 and opened up a lead of 5.972 seconds before the riders were red-flagged into the pits.

Intially there was some confusion as it seemed there may be a chance the riders would be called out to complete the race, but eventually it was confirmed that the race was over and the result would stand.

The win was Rossi's seventh of the season, and also earned him the record of 69 top-class Grand Prix wins outright, having previously been level on 68 with Giacomo Agostini.

Ross backed the decision to stop the race, saying conditions at Indianapolis were the worst he had experienced in his career.

"The wind was not constant and very strong," he said. "You never knew what was going to happen in the straight.

"Every lap I hoped for the red flag. It was too dangerous."

Hayden, who won the championship in 2006, was delighted to have secured his first podium finish of the season.

"I had nothing to lose," said the Honda rider.

"I just had to go for it. The bike felt pretty good in the wet. I pushed to the max and left nothing on the table."