The long winter break draws to a close this weekend as the 2010 MotoGP season gets going under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit. Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are fresh from the recent pre-season test and both last year's World Champion and the runner-up are aiming to kick off their 2010 campaigns with a successful opening weekend.

Last year saw Rossi take his fourth title for Yamaha and the ninth of his career and, with 103 race wins already under his belt, the Italian hero has nothing left to do to cement his place in the history of the sport. Despite 14 seasons in the World Championship the 31-year-old still has the same hunger and desire for victory as he did when he first started out and he claims that this year will be no different. He has been in intimidating form during pre-season testing, finishing fastest on five out of six days, and he looks to have already found an excellent base setting for the 2010 Yamaha YZR-M1. Rossi has won only twice before in Qatar, last year he finished second after starting from the same spot. He will be looking to go one better this time and take his first victory in a night race.

Lorenzo gave his more experienced team-mate an exciting run for his money last season but the 22-year-old eventually settled for the runner-up spot, an impressive feat nonetheless in just his second year in the premier-class. This year the Mallorcan's pre-season has been interrupted by a hand injury sustained in a fall with his motocross bike and he missed the second Sepang test, but he was back on board for the recent Qatar outing. Although still not at 100%, he is well on the way back to full fitness after an intensive physiotherapy routine at home in Barcelona. Qatar will always bring back memories of his thrilling 2008 MotoGP debut, when he burst onto the scene with a fantastic pole position and a second-place finish, while last year saw him make a solid start to the season by finishing third behind his team-mate.

Team Suzuki Alstare’s Leon Haslam will start tomorrow’s second round of the World Superbike Championship at Portimao in Portugal from the front row of the grid after a dramatic Superpole 3 - which saw the lead change hands several times in the 10-minute session.

In the end, Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) took Superpole with a lap of 1:42.092; almost one-and-a-half seconds inside the lap record. Second was Max Biaggi (Aprilia), with Carlos Checa (Ducati) third and Haslam fourth.

Team-mate Sylvain Guintoli just missed out on a second-row spot on the grid and will start on the third row.

As I wrote on the forum September 3, 2009, and in particular, as I hoped, Ratthapark Wilairot will ride the Bimota Hb4. The structure directed by Eduardo Perales has reached an agreement with Italian manufacturer Bimota to use their chassis in the inaugural Moto2 World Championship.

Thai Honda PTT SAG this week ensured their presence in the new Moto2 category with a deal to use Bimota as their chassis for the 2010 World Championship. The team, directed by Edu Perales, are set to contest the campaign with Thai Ratthapark Wilairot and Spaniard Héctor Faubel, and both riders are due to get their first contact with the new bike at the final official pre-season test at Jerez (March 27-29).

The team’s preparations for the new season suffered a delay after their initial agreement with Swiss manufacturer Suter broke down due to contractual disagreements.

Tire pressure has become a big deal in MotoGP racing. The single tire rule has had many effects in MotoGP and not always those intended. The pre-season test races are anything but the close race the one-tire-for-everyone rule was supposed to promote. One-tire-for-all has made it especially tough for the slower riders who now have to try and get some grip out of tires essentially designed for Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and the like.

Thus riders have no use other set-up details to adapt the Bridgestone tires to their own styles; which is why tire pressure has become the new big deal in MotoGP racing.

5 months, and 4 days ago 250GP history was made in Valencia, Spain, when the world 250 Grand Prix championship ended after 60 years and 716 races.

Spaniard Hector Barbera won the 27-lap race, after Italian title contender Marco Simoncelli crashed his Gilera out of the lead, and any possible chance of taking the last-ever 250cc world championship title. That historic accolade went to Japan's Hiroshi Aoyama riding a Honda, our own Thai Honda rider, Ratthapark Wilairot, managed to finish 8th.

The first 250cc race to be given world championship Grand Prix status was the seven-lap Lightweight event at the 1949 Isle of Man TT. Ireland's Manliff Barrington took the win on his Moto Guzzi single. The Italian factory won that year's title with countryman Bruno Ruffo at the controls. 37 other riders, have claimed the title at least once since then.

KTM-supported rider French-born Cyril Despres on Saturday sealed victory in the 2010 Dakar Rally after 9000 km across Argentina and Chile. He rode in triumph into Buenos Aires to complete his third Dakar victory and the tenth consecutive victory for KTM, the Austrian-made sports motorcycles.

Despres, who completed the final stage, a total ride of 707 km with a timed special of 206 km of fast track riding to finish the stage in a comfortable eighth place. He was five minutes 05 seconds behind the winner of the day, rather fittingly, his KTM support rider Rubin Faria of Portugal. Despres, who also won in 2005 and 2007 when the rally was staged across Africa, was one hour 02' 52" minutes in front after completing the immense distance and endless challenging terrain, including four stages in Chile's Atacama Desert.

An emotional Despres

"All victories are nice but this one is particularly beautiful," he said. "It is the victory of hard work, of expertise and of an incredible team. There are nine of us in the team and not one of us ever let go. We all wanted to win; we all wanted to fight hard and we won. It's just fantastic. Of course there is a lot of emotion." Despres whose racing career has had its setbacks, injuries and a constant battle with his arch rival, fellow KTM rider Marc Coma of Spain said he was genuinely moved by the victory. "I am human," he said "I know I have been riding this bike for 15 days and I am exhausted but the little strength I had left just went in tears. KTM played a big part in this victory. They trusted us. We chose everyone. We have been working 24/7 for months. One thing is clear; I was not afraid of losing. I just wanted to win. And this will to win was stronger than the fear of losing. It was a tough Dakar, a beautiful Dakar and I am so glad I won."

KTM supported rider Marc Coma scored his third stage victory in the Dakar 2010 as riders went from La Serena to the Chilean capital of Santiago for Stage 10 as the Spaniard strengthened his determination make the best of the rest of the rally. KTM's Cyril Despres still leads overall.

Although Coma has virtually no chance of making up the distance separating him from leader, arch rival and fellow KTM rider Despres, his will to win has not diminished. He was beset with problems during the first half of the race that put him behind in the overall ranking. Coma, who won here last year, has now taken line honors in Stages Four, Six and Ten. He has made inroads into improving his overall position but is still ranked sixteenth.

Looking for victory in Stage 10

Coma said he went out looking for the victory on a day that took riders out of the Atacama Desert onto completely different terrain. "That was like a day of Endurance riding," Coma commented after the race. "There was a lot of skidding, but it was technical and interesting." The Spaniard said he had gone out looking for the victory and tried to show he was quick and comfortable on the tracks. "I started first and opened the road for the whole stage. It's hard. In fact it's the hardest thing to do. And trying to claw back some time is difficult too. But we did it, so I'm happy, even proud - all thanks to the team".

Dakar Rallies are always tough but KTM-supported riders Cyril Despres and Marc Coma both rode to glory on Friday before the rest day Saturday in what was a marathon 7 hours and 600 km of extreme terrain. Despres and Coma were 1-2 at the finish line and also in the overall standings.

The 2010 edition of the race, the second time it has been held on the South American continent is proving to be a memorable one for the KTM riders. At the half way mark, when riders can finally take a day's rest on the Pacific Coast of Chile, Despres is able to bask in being the overall leader by just short of one hour seven minutes. The Frenchman took control of the overall standings at the close of Stage 3 after seeing the smaller 450 cc bikes gaining the advantage in the first two timed stages. He has two stage wins to his credit (Stages 3 and 7) and while he has a respectable time advantage, the road back to Buenos Aires will be long and hard and his rival Coma is in the ascendancy. By winning Stage Seven, Despres succeeded in taking his twenty second Dakar stage victory in this famous race.

Despres and Coma - eternal rivals in international rally

Despres and Coma have been trading victories in the Dakar for some years: Despres won in 2005, Coma in 2006, Despres in 2007, the 2008 edition was cancelled then Coma bounced back to win again in 2009 in the first ever Dakar in Argentina and Chile. When skills and tactics are measured there is nothing between the two KTM riders who have been in a class of their own in international rally competition for some years. The 2010 race is also shaping up to be a mirror image of the 2009 edition. Last year it was Despres who was plagued with bad luck in the early part of the race then made a strong comeback to be second to Coma in the final reckoning. This year the tide turned against Coma in the first half of the race. He incurred a 22-minute penalty for speeding after Stage One and also ran into some technical and tire difficulties. Coma has now signaled that he is back in the running and the return - back through Argentina to the finish in Buenos Aires on January 17 can easily be the Battle of the KTM Titans. KTM have won the bike division of the Dakar Rally every year since 2001.

Day Six Dakar 2010: KTM's Despres extends overall lead; second in Stage Five. KTM's Cyril Despres reveled in the fast conditions of Stage Five of the Dakar as riders tackled 668 km with a long 483 km special through the foothills of the Atamaca Desert in Chile, finishing just 1'30 behind stage winner Chilean Francisco Lopez to extend his overall lead to 37'37

The second longest stage in the Dakar 2010 from Copiapo to Antofagasta was billed as one that would test riders' concentration and stamina. It also had its share of drama. KTM's Marc Coma, who lead the field at CP3 with more than five minutes advantage on Despres then lost half an hour with a damaged tyre before Italian KTM rider Luca Manca in a huge sporting gesture, allowed him to replace it with one of his. Coma, the 2009 winner hangs on to overall seventh ranking but trails arch rival Despres by 1h16'55''.

Run of bad luck for title holder Coma

Marc Coma was understandably disappointed after looking like he was set to win the stage and make up some of the deficit on the overall leader. "This year isn't really my year," he said. "But I have to try and stay positive and make the most of the rally." Coma's first blow came with a 22 minute penalty in the first timed stage for a speeding infringement. Then he had technical problems followed by today's difficulties.

Valentino Rossi smashed the pole record at Sepang this afternoon to take his sixth pole position of the season ahead of tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix, the Italian's first championship 'match point.' Jorge Lorenzo recovered from a difficult session to put in some good laps at the end and qualify second, making it the 12th time this year that the Fiat Yamaha Pair have shared the front row.

Temperatures during qualifying reached a sweltering 34 degrees at the tropical track but nothing hampered Rossi today and the 30-year-old was flying throughout, as he continued to work closely with his Yamaha and Bridgestone engineers in order to maximise tyre performance ahead of tomorrow's 21-lap race. The championship leader topped the timesheets early on, making way for Casey Stoner during the middle part of the hour but taking the lead again with 25-minutes to go and never looking in danger of being beaten. He continued to improve his time before a stunning last flying lap saw him beat his own pole position record, which has stood since 2006. Rossi can clinch his ninth World Championship title tomorrow simply by finishing fourth or better, regardless of where his team-mate finishes.

Lorenzo had looked in brilliant form yesterday but the youngster struggled more today, failing to make another step with his setting and losing some ground to his rivals. He could only manage fourth this morning and spent much of this afternoon's session uncharacteristically out of the top four. With the softer Bridgestone tyres at the end he was able to set some decent hot laps and his final effort, 0.569 off Rossi, was good enough for second, but he and his team will be working hard overnight and in tomorrow's warm-up in order to improve their race pace.