MotoGP leader Rossi ready for battle in Indianapolis

(ANSA) - Rome, August 5 - MotoGP leader Valentino Rossi will seek to protect his series lead and continue his unbroken podium streak when the MotoGP world championship resumes on Sunday.
    The second half of the season will get underway at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix after a three-week break.
    The Movistar Yamaha pilot, who conquered three wins and nine podiums in the first half of the championship, is leading with 179 points. He has a 13-point lead over Spanish teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who already won on the US circuit in 2009.
    After a victory at the inaugural race in 2008, Rossi never won again in Indianapolis.
    However, Rossi, who is bidding for his tenth World Championship title, has reportedly never lost in a premier class championship when he was at the top of the standings after nine races.
    The competition could also be positive for Repsol Honda's pilots.
    Both Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have won twice in Indianapolis.
    MotoGP world champion Marquez dominated the last two races on the track and, given Honda's renewed confidence after it went back to last year's frame, he could be the pilot to beat.
    Meanwhile, the Forward racing team will not be in Indianapolis after its owner Giovanni Cuzari was arrested last month in Lugano on multiple charges including corruption and money laundering.
    The team, which fields bikes in both the MotoGP and Moto2, lost its main sponsor and one of its pilots, Stefan Bradl, who will race for Aprilia in Indianapolis.
    The team could reportedly return to compete in the upcoming grand prix in Brno on August 16.
    Its absence in Indianapolis will also imply that its Italian Moto2 riders Simone Corsi and Lorenzo Baldassarri will not be competing.