MOTOGP
The MotoGP World Championship’s third round will kick off at the Circuito de Jerez tonight in Spain, marking the opening free practice session of the weekend as local hero Jorge Lorenzo leads the series to his home country.

Following his emphatic victory in Japan just seven days ago Lorenzo is hugely popular in his home country, and ticket sales are even higher than the usual massive turnout that MotoGP gets for the Spanish rounds.

While Lorenzo is on top of the world standings, fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa bounced back in Motegi to score his first podium of the season, which is a very solid result considering he was in jeopardy for the opening round in the days leading up to it.

Hopkins hopes to be back at Miller following a successful surgery

What’s interesting about all of this is that even The Doctor himself, Valentino Rossi, has this week proclaimed Lorenzo and Pedrosa as contenders for the championship, which is in stark contrast to the outcome following Qatar’s opening round.

Returning to Europe for the first time this year since testing, MotoGP really doesn’t begin to tell the complete story until we get a round or two into the season, but following the uncertainty of that Motegi race it’s easy to say that right now it’s hard to pick a true favourite.

Also set to take place in Jerez is the meeting to finalise which manufacturer will win the rights to be the control engine supplier for the Moto2 series, and remember that this weekend could be the final time that we see 45 minute practice sessions used in the premier class.

WORLD SUPERBIKE
American John Hopkins has undergone a successful surgery to his hip and femur that were injured in his Assen crash, hoping to be back on the bike for his home round of the series on 29-31 May – which would be  a miraculous recovery time for such a devastating injury. The return would mean that Hopper will only miss the upcoming Monza round and Kyalami round, also obviously missing the previous races in Assen.

Now that Josh Brookes has been confirmed at HM Plant Honda for the remainder of the season in British Superbike, he won’t be a possibility for the Stiggy Honda ride anymore (unless he does both), and sources have suggested that original rider Roberto Rolfo could return to the team to stand in for Hopper.

On the other side of that, there have also been indications of a few surprising riders who may get a shot, with domestic riders from around the world all eyeing off the ride that Leon Haslam has made look so good already this season.

BRITISH SUPERBIKE
Australian Josh Brookes can breathe a sigh of relief following approval for his visa to compete in the British Superbike Championship, rejoining the series at this weekend’s Oulton Park round of the series with HM Plant Honda.

The recently turned 26-year-old flew out of Australia on Wednesday to return to the UK, hoping to make a splash in his debut with what is the factory Honda Superbike team in BSB.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to actually have my visa. I’d got to the point where I was beginning to really feel worn down with the whole situation as everything just seemed to be coming up against me with my visa application, even up until the last few days when I couldn’t get my visa on Monday as it was a Bank Holiday in Canberra – which is where the British High Commission is,” Brookes told the official BSB website.

Brookes (left) will join fellow Aussie Richards at HM Plant Honda this weekend in BSB

“Anyway, I finally got it and then drove three hours back to Sydney to catch the plane so it has been pretty flat out. With everything going on it’s been a bit hard to fully concentrate on my mental and physical form for racing, so over this next 24 hours my aim is to clear my head of the visa stresses of the last few months and get focused for getting back on the Fireblade and being competitive.”

While out cycling earlier this week I saw Brookes on the road pedalling, so you can bet that he’s been putting in the hard yards over the last few months while waiting for confirmation on his future.

AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE
Kawasaki Racing Team rider Ben Attard was testing his factory ZX-6R at Wakefield Park in Goulburn yesterday, hoping to make a breakthrough with the front-end of the brand new bike as he and the team have struggled to find a good feeling so far with the Showa BPF forks.

Also out at the track was Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton and local Jason Kain, who finished second to Allerton in the NSW Road Race Championships last weekend.

Reigning American AMA Supermoto Champion Troy Herfoss, who rides for Team Joe Rocket Suzuki in Australian Supersport now, was also there at his local circuit on a practice GSX-R600, gaining crucial time on the bike as he continues to adapt to road racing.