The season so far: 125cc review

Previously renowned mainly for his wet weather riding skills Mike di Meglio has taken full advantage of some inclement conditions on several GP weekends this year to build up a thirty point advantage in the 125cc title race as the World Championship pauses for breathe.

Di Meglio has set himself the task of losing some weight over the summer break, though he could be forgiven for letting his hair down on the odd occasion before the action resumes at Brno in three weeks´ time.

The 20 year-old Ajo Motorsport rider has performed well in dry conditions as well as on rain-affected weekends, adding the to wet wins in Germany and France with a victory on a dry track at Catalunya. His performances have been a just reward for a team which has worked diligently under the stewardship of Aki Ajo over the past six years.

Simone Corsi´s trio of victories at Jerez, Estoril and Mugello saw him emerge as an early front-runner but with just one rostrum appearance since his home win in Italy, the 21 year-old has seen Di Meglio pull away at the head of the classification.

However, his Jack & Jones team-mate Nico Terol has experienced a more acute change in fortunes since a promising start to the year. The Valencian rider has not been on the podium since Le Mans and a DNF at his home race, followed by an eighteenth place finish at Donington have seen him slip down the standings to sixth place.

The 125cc World Champion Gabor Talmacsi is slowly regaining ground after a poor start to his title defence which left him with just four points from the opening two rounds. His Assen victory in the restarted five lap sprint race and five podiums in total mean he now sits 59 points off Di Meglio´s pace.

Talmacsi will be desperate to feature on the podium at the next round in Brno, where he enjoys massive support from the Eastern European crowd – and the Hungarian will also be further motivated by the news that MotoGP will visit his homeland for the first time next season.

Stefan Bradl commenced his campaign in steady style but dipped in form before his superb run to second place in his home GP at Sachsenring which delighted the home crowd. The German teenager currently lies fourth in the standings.

Just below Bradl, Joan Olive occupies fifth spot overall having played something of a `nearly man´ role to date, his three second place finishes at Losail, Estoril and Assen offset by his incapacity to finish the races at Jerez, Barcelona and Sachsenrng.

After a great pre-season Bradley Smith has not quite lived up to expectations, the intelligent English teenager suffering a number of painful crashes and still lacking the cutting edge to cash in on setting pole times and leading races.

Certainly the ginger-haired Polaris World rider was upstaged by Scott Redding´s sensational home win at Donington and Smith will be going out all guns blazing in search of his own first career victory in the second half of the year.