A number of riders live close to the circuit at Donington Park. The circuit is also known as the second 'home circuit' for most of the riders. James Toseland was the only man who could actually call the circuit his home but for the british hero, his attempt to excite the crowd ended in disappointment. Before the action got underway, Toseland joined up with smaller category countrymen Eugene Laverty, Scott Redding, Bradley Smith and Danny Webb in a visit to London on Wednesday, with fellow MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso accompanying the Brits in checking out the London Transport Museum.

At the track on Thursday morning, there were two major talking points - One of the subjects of the Donington Park gossip was Rizla Suzuki's replacement rider Ben Spies, who was standing in for the injured Loris Capirossi, whilst the other was a man not even present at the circuit; Sete Gibernau, who was taking part in three tests at Mugello for the Ducati Desmosedici GP9.

When Friday dawned, the attention turned firmly to the on-track action. Casey Stoner opened the proceedings as the fastest man in the MotoGP Free Practice 1. He established a precedent that would follow throughout a dominant weekend for the defending MotoGP World Champion. He continued his form during Free Practice 2, looking every bit the winner of the bwin.com British Grand Prix for the second year.

Whilst Stoner was building up the momentum, on board the Ducati Desmosedici GP8, another man with a World Championship to his name also had some raw power at his disposal. 2006 winner Nicky Hayden was using the Honda's new pneumatic valve engine for the first time at a full Grand Prix weekend. He repayed HRC's faith in him by reappearing at the top end of the combined practice timesheet.

Hayden had been granted one of his desires for the season, and as part of giving back to the team, he also did his fair share of giving in his role as an ambassador for the Make-A-Wish foundation. He showed some less fortunate children around
the Grand Prix paddock, giving them a taste of the VIP experience.

After the third Free Practice session, the riders and crews were contemplating the prospect of a wet race in Donington Park. Juan Martinez was the man with the information for Kawasaki on that subject, working with wet weather specialist Anthony West in setting up the Ninja ZX-RR in case of the eventuality of heavy rainfall.

Setup changes were definitely needed in qualifying, although it was Casey Stoner who proved to be the most adept to the task. The Australian navigated the tricky conditions to take his second consecutive pole position, continually improving his times. It meant that Valentino Rossi would be denied the top spot for the occasion of his 200th Grand Prix.

Already a MotoGP Legend, Valentino Rossi, and premier class title winners Stoner and Hayden were not the only men with a title to their name present at the British race. MotoGP Legends Phil Read and Jim Redman were in attendance, receiving honours from MotoGP rights holders Dorna Sports S.L. and premier class team San Carlo Honda Gresini.

Another former rider, Randy Mamola, was also on track on Sunday as part of Ducati's MotoGPX2 experience. The former premier class runner-up was taking a famous face around the circuit on a two seater bike, and at Donington it was the turn of comedian Ross Noble to find out that high speed riding is certainly no laughing matter, although the Briton was understandably smiley after calming down again.

The race itself saw another Ducati out on its own, this time the single seater version used by poleman Casey Stoner. The 22 year-old took a runaway victory, ahead of Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, to heat things up in the title chase.