Jorge Lorenzo has arrived at Silverstone for the AirAsia British Grand Prix with a 25 point advantage over Dani Pedrosa in the Championship rankings, however the Fiat Yamaha racer was fast to advise that the crown is not on his mind at this stage of the season.

"For me it's better not to think about the Championship and focus more on enjoying each race and improving my riding, because we know there are improvements to be made," explains Lorenzo.

With Valentino Rossi not racing from the MotoGP grid this weekend after his Mugello practice smash, Lorenzo will be the only Fiat Yamaha competitor on circuit at Silverstone, a track that is fresh to all racers.

"I like to do a lot of laps in practice, which will help with learning the circuit, but we won't be taking any risks tomorrow, as the track looks a little dirty at the moment,” he adds. “The track will clean up with each session, so the fast lap times will only come on Saturday. From a quick look around the circuit on a scooter the track looks very long and very wide, with lots of different types of tarmac, but I guess we'll only see how it feels on the bike tomorrow during free practice."

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) has shown he is a major contendor following his win in Mugello, whilst his RC212V has already shown an advantage in speed over his rivals at some of the quicker circuits this year.

"The last race was good for us," states Pedrosa. "With the bike we are improving little by little and we've had two good and two bad results so far this season. Hopefully this weekend will be another good one. This is a long track, without the short cut back to the pits that we had in Mugello, so it will be important to make the most of each lap during practice and qualifying."

Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) will also be prepared after his momentum from Mugello into this weekend's event. The Italian, who currently sits seventh in the Championship rankings, managed to find a setting that suited his racing style at his home event when he took fifth.

"The bike was certainly better in Mugello, but I'm still not 100% happy,” says Melandri. “There are still improvements to be made and I hope we can continue to make them here at Silverstone this weekend. The track looks amazing and I hope we will be able to put on a good race for the fans on Sunday."

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) arrived fourth at Mugello, this is his best result so far this season following a difficult beginning to the year, he will be eager to claim his first podium of 2010 and progress in the standings.

"We didn't have the start to the season we wanted, but we thought we could be competitive at Mugello because it's a track we've gone well at before,” he states. “To arrive there and have problems like we did was a real shock to the system."

Stoner is one of limited few that has raced at Silverstone prior to contesting the British 125cc Championship at Silverstone in 2001 and 2002, however he expects that will be of little assistance on the redeveloped track.

"I raced here nine years ago, but I think that there are only four corners still in use from that time with the new track layout. I certainly don't think that counts as circuit knowledge, so it definitely won't give me any sort of advantage this weekend,” he adds.

Paul Denning, Team Manager of the UK based Rizla Suzuki squad comments, "We made some big steps with the bike over the winter, but then we had some issues at the start of the season with Loris' confidence in the bike and also with Álvaro's injury.

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The landmark ground of cricket hosted a variety of MotoGP racers on Wednesday as Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro), Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing), Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar), Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol) and Khairuddin Zulfahmi (AirAsia - Sepang International Circuit Team) all arrived to Lord’s cricket ground in London.

The infamous venue was the campaign of the official pre-event ahead of this weekend’s AirAsia British Grand Prix, before the seriousness of racing competition began at the fresh Silverstone track, the six competitors were given a lesson in the history of the traditional English sport.

Redding, Smith, Webb and Zulfahmi all took turns to bowl at Lorenzo and Hayden, both were fully clad in cricket whites. It was the Ducati Marlboro racer who seemed to get the hang of it much faster, hitting some boundaries prior to offering tea and scones alongside Lorenzo.

Lorenzo, who ended second in the previous round at Mugello and is 25 points in the lead, adds that he preferred two wheels than holding a cricket bat. Ahead to the weekend, the Spaniard also adds, “I’m confident of being able to challenge for the win now, in Italy there was an issue with pace and the bike not stopping perfectly.”

Hayden is also satisifed with his Desmosedici GP10, while Smith stated that he is confident for a battle for victory in the 125cc session, which is a possibility on his home track.

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Day of Champions started over 20 years ago and has become a traditional beginning of the British MotoGP weekend. There is no other occasion like the Day of Champions in any other category of sport as spectators of motorbike racing truly enjoy this time on the calendar. The best part is all money raised aids Riders for Health to help save lives in Africa.

Stunt shows, live music, rides with sidecar racing squads, interviews and prizes are all part of the action.

Riders for Health is the official charity of MotoGP and Day of Champions allows motorcycle fans the chance to participate in behind the scenes views of the world of motorbike racing, the squads open the gates to the paddock and pit lane for lucky ticket holders.

The stars of MotoGP appear on the podium at the inaugral Riders for Health auction. The auction will be hosted by Eurosport commentators Toby Moody and Julian Ryder along with BBC MotoGP presenter, Matt Roberts.

Early in the day 200 riders will participate in the traditional Day of Champions ride-in, headed by three times British superbike champion, Niall Mackenzie, MCN editor Marc Potter, and Red Dwarf star, Danny John-Jules.

Stunt hero Gary Rothwell will be entertaining the crowds with his amazing stunts, along with the team from the Xtreme Trials display.

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