MotoGP

Valentino Rossi’s victory at the Catalan GP was the 99th time he has stood on the top step of the podium in Grand Prix racing. As shown in the following list, one more victory and he will become only the second rider in the 61 years history of the motorcycling world championship to have reached the milestone of 100 Grand Prix victories:

Riders with most Grand Prix victories (all solo classes)

Rider Total Combined Wins (MotoGP/500cc 350cc 250cc 125cc 80cc/50cc)

1. Giacomo Agostini 122

2. Valentino Rossi 99

3. Angel Nieto 90

MotoGP facts & figures

>> Valentino Rossi has won at the Dutch TT in all three classes, the 125cc class in 1997, the 250cc in 1998 and the MotoGP in 2002, 2004, 2005 and in 2007 after qualifying down in 11th on the grid. Last year he finished 11th after crashing on the first lap and re-starting at the tail of the field.

156 - Following the Catalan Grand Prix, Valentino Rossi has made 156 Grand Prix starts in the premier-class, the same as Jack Findlay whose career spanned from 1958 to 1978. Only five riders have started more races in the premier-class: Alex Barros (245 premier-class starts), Carlos Checa (192), Loris Capirossi (177), Kenny Roberts Jnr (167) and Sete Gibernau (158)

Lorenzo will meet his fans at the world's largest Dainese flagship store from 4pm to 6pm for an autograph session, before making his way to the Laguna Seca MotoGP race.

Motorcycle Racing's Greatest

The 2009 Assen MotoGP victory by Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi had special significance, as he crossed the line Rossi claimed the 100th GP race win of his incredible career and most of his victories, 41 to be exact, were obtained with Yamaha. Rossi's 100 race wins come from 217 GP race starts, giving the rider a very appropriate 46% win rate for his career.

>> The East German Grand Prix of 1961 was the first world championship event to be held at the Sachsenring. The original circuit used for this event was on closed roads, 8.73km in length.

• This is Valentino Rossi's first pole in the MotoGP class at the Sachsenring circuit.

• Valentino Rossi has been on the podium sixteen times in the seventeen races since finishing second in Germany last year. If he finishes in the top three here he will equal Giacomo Agostini's all-time record of 159 podium finishes in Grand Prix racing.

• Second on the grid, Jorge Lorenzo, has maintained his record of qualifying on the front row at every race in 2009.

D-air Enters MotoGP

Years of dedicated motorcycle airbag research and development bring an important result to Donington this weekend, where Dainese racers will use the D-air® Racing system in heavyweight MotoGP class competition. After the general fitting tests were completed, Valentino Rossi also decided to wear the suit with a D-air® during Saturday's race in Donington Park.

American MotoGP superstar Colin Edwards has participated in an exclusive interview series, "Tornado Warning," with the official Web site of the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP, before every MotoGP event since early in the 2008 season.

The colorful, outspoken Edwards, from Houston, never shies from speaking his mind on a variety of topics in the world of motorcycle racing, usually with great insight and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor.

The 2009 FIM MotoGP World Championship recommences at Brno in the Czech Republic this coming weekend, following a short summer break and a historic last ever visit to Donington Park which saw title holder Valentino Rossi increase his lead at the head of the standings, in somewhat fortunate circumstances.

• A Yamaha rider is starting from pole in MotoGP for the seventh successive race.

• Valentino Rossi starts from pole for the third race in a row. Last year at Brno, Rossi won by 15.004 seconds, the biggest ever winning margin in the four-stroke MotoGP era in a dry race. If Rossi finishes in the top three he will set a new outright record of 160 podium finishes in Grand Prix racing. Giacomo Agostini's record of 159 podium finishes has stood since 1977.

When Y.E. Yang defeated Tiger Woods in the final round of the PGA Championship on Aug. 16, it marked the first time Woods lost a major championship when leading or sharing the lead at the start of the final round.

Woods isn't the only worldwide athlete to display that kind of dominance. Like Tiger, six-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi has lost only once when leading at the start of the final lap of a full-length race during his 161 starts in the premier class.

Man, I love a good hotel at the end of good motorcycle ride. Maybe it stems from spending almost every night of the 1982 AMA Motocross National Championship series in the back of a Dodge van, trying to eek out a few hours sleep sandwiched between spare motors and stacks of knobby tires, the environment augmented with the aroma of racing fuel and WD40.

The second ever World Championship visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway takes place this weekend following 2008's historic inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, with last year's race-winner Valentino Rossi looking for another victory to augment his standings lead at the twelfth round of the season. It is another special occasion for MotoGP as the event coincides with Indy's 100th anniversary, the circuit having been constructed in 1909.

With his MotoGP victory at Brno, Valentino Rossi becomes the rider with most Grand Prix podium finishes in the 61 years of the motorcycling world championships. His Czech Grand Prix win was the 160th occasion that he has stood on the podium across all classes, one more than the previous holder of the record Giacomo Agostini, whose last podium finish was in the 500cc race at the Czech GP in 1977, held on the old road circuit.