With the Asian adventure completed, the MotoGP circus heads "down under" this weekend for Round 15 of the 2005 Grand Prix motorcycle World Championship and the venue is the stunning Phillip Island circuit, arguably the finest racetrack in the world.

The picturesque Aussie circuit, situated right on the Bass Sea, is just two hours drive south of Melbourne, and is loved by all concerned, as it is a true racers track. Many of the premier class competitors love the undulating layout, which has everything to challenge the finest riders in the world (minus Mat Mladin), and Valentino Rossi has a sublime record around the 2.764-mile Australian track.

Silly Season Island?

The silly season is just that at the moment with key sponsors still to commit for the 2006 season and there is the threat of court action hanging in the air. There could be trouble at the Dorna ranch, but why? Altadis, who are the parent company for Gauloises and Fortuna branding, are in dispute with the Yamaha factory with regard to the contract signed between the two, which should run through 2006. The difficulties, and ensuing talk of court action being banded around, have arisen because of the contract signed by Valentino Rossi. In a nutshell, Rossi has signed with Yamaha for the 2006 season but wants to run without tobacco sponsorship. That is obviously not conducive with the Altadis sponsorship agreement with Yamaha to run the "factory team" with Gauloises branding on the bike. Yamaha are hardly going to say no to Rossi since he has landed them two riders' titles and barring a miracle from HRC, the constructor's title for this season. So, Yamaha have taken the decision to go with Rossi at the expense of the Altadis contract. If Altadis pull their sponsorship, and the matter lands in the lap of a judge, the factory Yamaha team will be looking for a sponsor, and could possibly not be recognised as a "factory team", per the contract. Of course, this would mean the Fortuna backing of the "satellite team" could also be pulled. Whatever the outcome, Yamaha insist they will run a "lead team" and although the Altadis debacle confuses the sponsorship situation, Lin Jarvis has stated Colin Edwards will ride as team-mate to Valentino Rossi next year. Sounds messy right? Well, it doesn't end there. Sito Pons currently runs Camel sponsorship (J.R. Reynolds Group) and is still looking to keep them in place but that could be on shaky ground as Suzuki have been in talks with Camel to run as their title sponsor. And, the name most notably linked to the ride alongside Hopkins appears to be Checa. It would seem Camel find this viable, and it would be cheaper than the current Pons deal for them. If Camel move to Suzuki, Pons could find himself with a safe retreat as it could open up the possibility for Altadis/Fortuna to move to the Spanish Pons team, to run Max Biaggi and Alex Barros if Altadis pull out from the Yamaha deal. However, it may be the case that Fortuna would want to replace Barros with a Spanish rider. And, it doesn't end there. Telefonica-Movistar Communications are looking set to remove their backing from Gresini's Honda team, and Sete Gibernau, in return, looks almost certain to sign with Ducati for 2006 with the Bologna based factory not taking their option on Carlos Checa for another year. Subsequently, we therefore have another team that could well secure Camel as title sponsor, which could see Biaggi (who has Camel personal sponsorship) partnering Marco Melandri. And just to keep you concentrating, if Camel stay with Pons or move to Suzuki Altadis/Fortuna could also move their stock to Gresini's team running Melandri and maybe Checa or Elias, who is strongly linked to Fortuna branding. Confused? Well, I'm not surprised. For sure, it is unlikely to be resolved before the season's end and it leaves Dorna with a potentially sticky situation in terms of political unrest and solidification for the 2006 MotoGP grid.

The seven-time Grand Prix champion has won no less than six times at "The Island" including four consecutive premier class victories, his run of wins in the big class stretching back to 2001 when he won the 500cc race before dominating the MotoGP event in the last three years.

Another Rossi win (it would be his 11th of the year) would also secure the constructors title for Yamaha this season, breaking the stranglehold of Honda and should it happen, it would surely send HRC officials into a state of mourning. Honda is looking to strike back at Yamaha, and quickly. They have a "new bike" but when will we see it break cover from the Japanese test facility?

The new evolution of the RCV—which has seen limited testing by the factory riders at Brno following the Grand Prix there—is reported to be ready to make an appearance on track this year in preparation for 2006, although it looks unlikely it will be at Phillip Island.

The track itself has five right-handed turns and seven left-handers, but it's the way those turns are linked that makes Phillip Island so unique. The lap begins with the incredibly quick first turn (named Doohan's) and the rollercoaster ride continues throughout the lap with stunning sections of racetrack at Siberia, The Hayshed and Lukey Heights the pick of the layout.

The amazing final turn has been slightly modified following some nasty accidents—Dani Pedrosa's enormous crash during practice in 2003 a prime example—but the corner itself is still ultra-fast and leads onto the steeped 0.559-mile home straight.

The sweeping turns promote high speeds, so tires are of huge importance as the riders try to find that perfect set-up and side grip is key, as is getting suspension settings on the money to cope with the unloading of energy under braking and to handle the changes of direction throughout the lap.

As has been the case for several rounds now, it's the chase for the vice-championship that peaks the interest for the fans around the globe. With Rossi secured as World Champion in Malaysia, it's a straight fight between Biaggi, Melandri, Edwards, Hayden, Capirossi, Barros and Gibernau to see who can finish the season as runner-up to Valentino.

The Roman Emperor, Biaggi, currently occupies that second position in the standing's (159 points) but is only two points in front of Marco Melandri (157 points) with Colin Edwards (152 points) just five back of the Movistar rider.

Repsol Honda's Nick Hayden is in fourth (150 points) with Ducati's Loris Capirossi (148 points) right up the exhaust of the young American in fifth, leaving Alex Barros (129 points) and a disappointing Sete Gibernau (126 points) as the outside bets to follow Rossi home at the end of the season.

Melandri, Hayden and Edwards arrive in Australia on the back of solid performances in Qatar, the trio finishing second, third and fourth respectively two weeks ago. Loris Capirossi will want to erase his tenth place finish in the desert from the memory banks after taking back-to-back victories at Motegi and Sepang. And, for Biaggi, the only way is up after retiring in Doha following problems with the engine management system on his factory bike.

If Sete Gibernau is to salvage his season, the Australian Grand Prix represents the best opportunity for the Catalan. Gibernau loves the technical Phillip Island track and took the pole position in '04 with a time of 1-minute 30.122.

Sete is so far winless during this current campaign, something he will want to rectify with only three rounds remaining. Gibernau finished just 0.097 seconds back of Rossi last year after a monumental final lap that saw Rossi lift the 2004 crown for Gauloises Yamaha.

Melandri secured his 250cc title at Phillip Island in 2002 before being promoted to the MotoGP class for 2003, and Colin Edwards is a former World Superbike race winner at the circuit. Loris Capirossi got on the podium twelve months ago and Nick Hayden, winner of the USGP, sights the track as one of his personal favourites on the calendar.

Chris Vermeulen will replace the injured Troy Bayliss for the Camel team this weekend and will get his first taste of the Honda RC211V machine around his home track. The World Superbike vice-champion could deputise for Bayliss in Istanbul and Valencia should Troy not recover from the wrist injury that has already seen him miss three Grand Prix events.

Olivier Jacque re-joins Shinya Nakano to ride the second factory Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR machine for Harald Eckl in Australia. Jacque replaces Alex Hofmann who is out, potentially, for the rest of the season following his accident at the Japanese Grand Prix. Jacque has recovered from injuries sustained during practice for the Qatari race.

So, we are all set for another swashbuckling ride this Sunday, with two days of practice to wet the whistle. Full practice and qualifying times, reports, press releases and associated news will appear on this racing portal throughout the weekend.

We suggest you get the beers in, temporarily divorce the wife, ship the kids off to Grandma's and get set for 27 thundering laps of the Phillip Island circuit for the 2005 Polini Australian Grand Prix. It should be a barnstormer, with no judges presiding.