Matt Roberts' MotoGP round-up

By Matt Roberts
BBC Sport, Donington

Toseland: the calm before the Donington storm

The big stories at Donington were the clearest possible evidence of the knife-edge that exists between glory and failure - more critical in motorcycle racing than any other sport.

Scott Redding came from virtually nowhere to end what must have been an unthinkable drought for British 125cc racers back in 1973, while James Toseland's hopes of being our first premier-class winner since 1981 effectively ended before the race had even begun.

But I firmly believe that James will follow Scott in setting the records straight because, ignoring the hype, Donington was essentially just one more race out of 18 in this, his learning season in MotoGP.

He certainly learnt a few lessons at the weekend - not least that the only way he'll get on the podium this season is by having a perfect weekend and hoping either Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa or Casey Stoner slips up. That goes for the rest of the grid too.

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The action at Donington was preceded by the traditional Day of Champions fundraiser in aid of the Riders for Health charity, which this year raised an incredible £168,000.

He'll sign the autographs, they sign the cheques

QI star Alan Davies showed that he is a true bike fan by attending and donating his own Ducati 916 to the auction, raising £5,500 - the second most valuable lot behind Jorge Lorenzo's leathers, which fetched £5,700.

A host of Toseland-abilia drew in £6,400 to add to the £5,500 he raised with a cycle ride round the track, while a bunch of signed Rossi items brought in £20,000.

Amazingly, two of his caps were bought for £1,000 each - enough for RfH to cover the running costs of one of their health workers' motorcycles in Africa for a year.

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On the track Nicky Hayden finally persuaded Honda to let him run the pneumatic valve engine and instantly reaped the rewards, the former world champion finishing second fastest behind Stoner in Friday's free practice.

It's fast, hard to ride and not a Honda - how d'you like it, Nicky?

The new engine reportedly brings the power in more aggressively and kicks out an extra 1,000 revs.

"It's not easier to ride but I don't want something easier, I want something faster," said the American.

Word is he'll be on something even less easy to ride but much faster in 2009 - and it won't be a Honda.

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In a summer when we have once again been left to reminisce about former footballing glories, three of Britain's all-time biking greats - world champions Les Graham, Phil Read and Mike Hailwood - were retrospectively honoured with replica versions of the new MotoGP World Championship trophy.

Graham - winner of the inaugural title in 1949 - and Hailwood are sadly no longer with us but were represented by their sons Stuart and Dave, but Read was present.

"It's great that the heroes of the past can be recognised in this modern age, and to see all those names together on the trophy is a reminder of the great history of this sport," he said.

He could easily have made that the great British history of the sport.

Of our other former champions, John Surtees and Geoff Duke were unable to attend but will still receive the trophy, while Barry Sheene's will be presented to his family later in the season at Phillip Island.

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I mentioned last week how much of a football fan Valentino is and he cancelled his flight home after the race to watch Italy play Spain.

Watching the shoot-out proves too much for Simoncelli to bear

The match had been raising passions in this predominantly Latino-Hispanic paddock since Thursday, when Dani Pedrosa broke the habit of a lifetime to play up to the photographers and pose with Rossi, balancing a football between their heads.

Jorge Lorenzo and Toni Elias took on Italian 250cc pair Marco Simoncelli and Mattia Pasini at table football for Spanish television on Friday night, resulting in a one-sided win for Italy.

But Lorenzo could be excused for his below-par performance, considering he'd had a skin graft taken from his wrist to patch up his damaged fingers just a week earlier!

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It was a tough weekend all round for Jorge, who rode with a special silk glove underneath his normal protection in order to reduce friction on his wrist and fingers.

After five crashes over the last three rounds, he put his lack of speed in practice down to a psychological block but showed his now trademark sense of humour when asked how he might overcome it.

Governor Schwarzenegger, meet Jorge Lorenz-eau

"Be water, my friend," he smiled, quoting the legendary Bruce Lee.

If you are new to the words of the great man (Bruce, not Jorge), the full quote is this: "Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water.

"Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle; you put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."

On Sunday Jorge was water, and seemingly defied the laws of physics to flow up from 17th on the grid - one place behind James - to finish sixth.

With the next race less than a week away at Assen, and the nightmare of Donington still fresh in his mind, that could be the most important lesson James can learn from this weekend.

The remit for Assen is clear. Be water, my friend.