Australian GP. Previous info

The World Championship approaches the final sprint of the season in Australia
The titles of the 125 and 250 are still at stake, as well as the MotoGP vice-championship for Tohru Ukawa
 Closing the seven-point gap between Tohru Ukawa, third, and Max Biaggi, second in the overall standings of the MotoGP class will be the main objective of the Japanese rider this weekend. Max Biaggi, who took advantage of the continuous overtakings between Rossi and Ukawa to escape all alone and clinch the victory of the Malaysian Grand Prix, has shown that he has reached a highly competitive level at the end of the season, together with his Yamaha M1, and will therefore be a strong rival for the Japanese rider. And for Valentino Rossi, who arrives in Australia with this seasons homework done, the upcoming race will be a great opportunity to fight for another victory and solve the technical problems he has been having lately with his Repsol Honda RC211 V. In the 250cc Fonsi Nieto got back hope after the Malaysian Grand Prix, where he clinched the victory and saw how the leader of the provisional classification, the Italian Marco Melandri, retired on the first laps of the race due to a mechanical failure of his Aprilia. Melandris 52 points advantage shrunk to 27 and another 0 for the overall leader in Australia would allow Nieto to fight for the championship title in Valencia. And while Nieto is doing his accounts hoping for a new failure of Melandri, his team-mate Toni Elias keeps on moving forward, step by step, gathering experience in the class and hoping to get a result similar to those of Japan and Malaysia in the coming races. In the minor category, Dani Pedrosa keeps on showing himself calm and focussed. He doesnt want anything to make him loose the concentration needed for such a highly contended end of the season and therefore doesnt change his way of planning everything race by race, without thinking about the championship. With two Grand Prix left and 50 points at stake, Pedrosa has still real possibilities, as have Vincent and Poggiali, to arrive in Valencia with options to fight for the title. And while Pedrosa will look for victory in Australia, his team-mate Joan Olivé, thirteenth in Malaysia, will keep on trying to get as much points as possible in order to be among the top ten of the overall standings.