Former World Superbike Champion
Colin Edwards and 125 and 250cc World Champion
Loris Capirossi are both switching teams next year. They are separated by just one point, together with Hayden in a three-way battle for seventh.
Three years ago Makoto Tamada brought Honda and
Bridgestone success at their home race and returns on Sunday with little chance of continuing his
MotoGP career next season after a miserable season on the Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha.
Spaniard
Jorge Lorenzo could also clinch the 250cc world title on Sunday but he faces a much tougher task than Stoner. Riding the Fortuna Aprilia, he leads the Kopron Team Scot Honda of Italian Andre Dovizioso by 51 points with four rounds remaining. He needs to score 24 more points than Dovizioso to retain his title. Last year Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama brought the Austrian KTM factory a famous victory and both he and team-mate Mika Kallio could do with a change of fortune after breaking down in Portugal.
It looks certain that the 125cc Championship will go to the final round with just five points separating Bancaja team-mates Gabor Talmacsi and Hector Faubel who won their duel in Estoril. Sixteen year-old Spaniard Pol Espargaro was third, a performance he would love to repeat.
