Preview - Turkish Grand Prix.

The new breed of MotoGP young guns arrive at Istanbul ready to take on Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, round three of the 2006 world championship.

Reigning world champion Rossi and current championship leader Capirossi have each taken victory in the first two rounds of the season - but the performances of Nicky Hayden, Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner and Toni Elias have been a revelation - and Sunday's 22 lap race around the 3.318 mile Istanbul Park circuit will provide them with a further opportunity to inflict more grief on the established stars.

The circuit staged its very first MotoGP race last year - and was an instant hit with riders and fans alike. In contrast to many of the new featureless Formula One circuits, Istanbul Park provides a variety of bends and gradients which tests both man and machine to the maximum.

The main talking point is the right hand corner, just before the start and finish complex, which is now the fastest corner in MotoGP. Riders go through it at around 160mph, in fifth gear, before shifting into sixth at nearly 190 mph on the short bumpy straight - and then violently braking to 50mph for the three first-gear bends that bring them back to the short start and finish straight.

But one rider yet to experience those challenges is Capirossi, who missed last October's race through injury. Victory for Ducati Marlboro in the opening round in Jerez and a third place in Qatar have given the 33-year-old former 125 and 250cc World Champion a slender five-point lead over Hayden prior to Turkey.

Repsol Honda rider Hayden arrives at Istanbul with sky high confidence, having finished third and second in the two races held so far this year - and collected third in Istanbul behind Marco Melandri and world champion Rossi. Both Hayden and superstar rookie team-mate Dani Pedrosa have found strong early season pace - which they will need to keep Rossi at bay after the Italian's recent victory in Qatar.

250cc World Champion Pedrosa has made a sensational start to his MotoGP career and is third in the championship, six points behind Hayden and just three points in front of Rossi - who looked back to best in Qatar. The seven times world champion is determined to fight back from his disastrous start to the season in Jerez - and, chatter permitting, is sure to be fighting for victory on Sunday. Rossi admits that Istanbul is not his favourite circuit, but finished second last year and will be looking to go one better on Sunday to close the 14-point gap on Capirossi and silence those ever more threatening youngsters.

Two of those, Elias and Stoner, currently share fifth place in the championship. Australian Stoner won the 250cc race in Turkey last year and has made an amazing start to his MotoGP career, riding the LCR Honda. He started the race in Qatar from pole position, led for a long period, but finally slipped to fifth when his tyres started to slide. Elias, riding the Fortuna Honda has been equally impressive with fourth and eighth places. The Spaniard was sixth last year in the race won by his new team-mate Marco Melandri who went on to win the final race of the year in Valencia.

The Italian former 250cc World Champion is slowly but surely recovering the form that saw him finish runner-up in the 2005 championship and will want to pull back the 20-point advantage that Capirossi has established over him at the front.

There are plenty of others capable of fighting for a podium finish in this third round, looking at the evidence of the first two encounters. Shinya Nakano is slightly disappointed with his current eighth place in the standings after a tremendous winter of testing on the Kawasaki.

Former 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts is revitalised riding for his Dad's Oxfordshire-based team on the Honda powered KR machine. He shares that eighth place with Nakano, with former MotoGP runner-up Sete Gibernau a further point adrift after a mixed start to his Ducati career.

The Rizla Suzuki pair of John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen will be looking for a change of fortune after a weekend of mechanical disasters in Qatar, while both Makoto Tamada and Colin Edwards will be looking to kickstart their seasons after being out of contention in the first two rounds.

Carlos Checa would be delighted to repeat his fifth place finish of last season, while Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate James Ellison arrives in Istanbul with growing confidence after securing his first MotoGP points of the season in Qatar.

In the 250cc class, 18-year-old Fortuna Aprilia rider Jorge Lorenzo is chasing a hatrick of victories after winning both 2006 races to date - handing the Spaniard a 14 point lead over the former 125cc World Champion Andrea Dovizioso, who pushed him to the limit in a superb Qatar battle.

The big surprise of the season has been another former 125cc World Champion, Italian veteran Roberto Locatelli, who holds third place after a podium finish in Qatar. Lorenzo's team-mate Hector Barbara is fourth, just three points in front of Hiroshi Aoyama, who's been so impressive in KTM's first full season in the class.

Twenty one year old Alvaro Bautista is doing a Lorenzo in the 125cc class. Riding the Master-MVA Aspar Aprilia, the Spaniard has totally dominated the opening two rounds to establish a 17 point lead over Mika Kallio who finished second on the KTM in Qatar. Italian Mattia Pasini is hanging in there in third place, a further four points adrift.