The World Championship reaches its halfway point with Rossi and Pedrosa leading standings.
In the 250cc, Toni Elias is third and Fonsi Nieto fourth.
Donington will be hosting this weekend the eighth round of the Motorcycle World Championship that will be reaching its halfway point in the 2003 season. Valentino Rossi arrives in Donington under the same circumstances as last year: leading and with enough advantage to take the start under no pressure. With a 38 points advantage over Sete Gibernau, second, the Italian star will be racing on a track hes quite good at, and where hes been able to take the victory in the last two seasons. Nicky Hayden, who showed a clear evolution during the past Dutch Grand Prix, will again be on a circuit he doesnt know, but the young North American rider is more motivated than ever.
In the 250cc, both Toni Elias and Fonsi Nietos main target is to shorten the 17 and 20 point gap to the leader, the Aprilia rider Manuel Poggiali. Sebastián Porto, eighth in the overall standings will have another chance to fight for his first podium finish on the difficult English layout.
In the 125cc and after the excellent race performed by Pablo Nieto and Héctor Barberá in Assen, Jorge Martínez Aspars young pupils are expected to keep the level they have already shown. Pablo Nieto is still looking for his first race victory in the Championship and Héctor Barberá, who took his first podium in Assen, will be trying to keep himself among the leading pack race after race. Dani Pedrosa, eighth in Assen, has already a 26 points advantage over the second classified rider, the German Steve Jenkner. He knows it and hell have in England another good opportunity to increase his advantage on a circuit he managed to finish second last year.
