With just three months remaining before the city of Beijing plays host to the XXIX edition of the Olympic Games, China opens its doors to an equally talented array of athletes and a similarly historic championship this weekend as the MotoGP World Championship lands in Shanghai for the fourth round of an already intriguing season. The Fiat Yamaha Team heads for the Orient in fine spirits after a sensational start to the season, which has wielded five podiums and leadership of both the teams' and riders' standings.

Pivotal to that success is the early season form of rookie revelation Jorge Lorenzo, who has made the most successful ever start to a modern-day MotoGP career after three races. An unbroken pole to podium record so far have taken the youngster to the top of the standings on 61 points - a tally he aims to add to in China on his 21st birthday.

A debut premier-class success in Portugal two weeks ago made Lorenzo the fifth youngest rider to achieve the feat - outshining legendary names such as Mike Hailwood and his own team-mate Valentino Rossi - and the youngest to finish on the podium at three successive races. Having conquered Estoril on his first visit with the YZR-M1, a circuit at which he had never previously won in any class, Lorenzo can fully expect to be competitive at Shanghai, where he dominated with pole position, victory and a new lap record in the 250cc class last year, especially after undergoing successful surgery to cure a troublesome 'arm-pump' condition.

In 2005 Valentino Rossi himself made history by taking victory in the first ever MotoGP race to be held in China, which was affected by heavy rain. The Italian was forced to retire in 2006 but he bounced back with second place last year and his focus for this weekend is to go one step higher on the podium. Rossi is confident that his blossoming relationship with Br idgestone tyres is ready to bear fruit and see him join Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa on the winners' list for the season.

Combining fast straights and hard Braking zones with a series of slow and difficult corners, Shanghai is not dissimilar to Estoril in terms of bike set-up, with the engineers required to find a compromised balance between nimbleness and straight-line speed. As at any Herman Tiilke-designed circuit, horsepower is a crucial factor and Shanghai is no exception, boasting the longest straight on the calendar at an incredible 1202 metres.

Valentino Rossi - "We should fight for victory"
"After Estoril we had a test and the primary focus was tyre testing with Bridgestone, working on material for Shanghai. We found some good things and I hope that we'll be starting in good shape. We've had three races together now and I think the last two podiums, especially in Estoril which isn't such a good track for Bridgestone, have shown that we're making good progress in our relationship and I hope that Shanghai is going to be the place where it finally all comes together. We're not in such a bad place in the championship and there is a very long way to go, but our rivals are very strong so we can't afford to make mistakes and we need to try to take as many points as possible from now on. Last year in China we weren't quite able to win but this year our bike is working very well and, together with our tyre package, I think we should be fighting for the victory. The race in 2007 was very exciting I think, a long battle with Stoner; this year I hope for a similar battle with my rivals but with a different outcome!"