Well the long wait is over, MotoGP is back this Sunday. Of course it's not as long as the wait used to be.... (April!)

The season opens with it's first ever night race in Qatar. Quite why they picked Qatar when it's timing was never a real problem for Europe is a mystery. You can only conclude it's to beat the Singapore F1 race to the punch.

Whilst it will look great, it won't make any difference to the result, though Bridgestone are worried about their tyres in the cooler temperatures:Link

Changes

The only addition to the calendar this year is the second US race at Indianapolis. I have no idea who will be on top here, but at least if Michelin balls it up on two wheels half the grid will still be able to race.

There have been no big rules changes, the number of sets of tyres allowed has risen slightly. Bigger changes are threatened for the future of course.

The grid lost Carlos Checa and Makoto Tamada to World Superbike, Alex Barros finally retired. Not any massive loss, but more upsetting is the absence of Team Roberts. They are pledging to return, but who knows if they ever will.

The Title Contenders

Everyone expects the champion to come out of Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa. You can't really argue with this. Certainly there will be other winners but these three are leading the charge for their manufacturer, and in Pedrosa's case Michelin. All the focus will be on them, and unless someone gets in early that's how it will stay.

Casey Stoner is looking pretty unflappable, well at least on the track. Off it he has a few frustations, people not giving him enough respect, Japanese manufacturers helpfully suggesting rule changes, but on it he looks in pretty good shape. Ducati have tweaked the bike slightly, not making any dramatic changes. Unless something goes wrong, he's the favourite to retain the title.

The thing that could go wrong is Valentino Rossi. His famous sense of humour is looking a bit detached after losing the crown for two seasons straight. Indeed it looked like a control tyre rule was going to be imposed almost certainly for his benefit.

However, as everyone knows he got the Bridgestones in the end and coupled with a new engine from Yamaha to close that power gap he looks a better prospect. Certainly he can't lose out on the tyres, unless of course Michelin get it right and wipe the floor with Bridgestone.

Rossi can never be ruled out, in the same way Michael Schumacher could never be ruled out. The smallest sniff of a chance and he will be there. I can't say what his chances are though. We need to see some racing. Stoner looks to have the edge so far.

The third wheel in this is Dani Pedrosa, who has the might of both the Honda Racing Corporation and Michelin lined up behind him. But he managed to miss most of winter testing after sustaining an injury. Which led him to make some disparaging remarks about Nicky Haydens testing abilities.

Furthermore Honda are having difficulty making their all new engine go faster than last years. Indeed the works riders will be starting with last years.

Pedrosa believes he is every bit as good as Rossi and Stoner, but hasn't had much chance to show it yet. On his day, when the track is twisty and the tyres hold out, like Donington in 06 or Sachsenring and Valencia last year he can't be touched. Trouble is though, you have to be able to fight everywhere and his inability to brake has hard as the other contenders needs to be overcome.

If Michelin do Bridgestone over though, the title is as good as his....

Bubbling under

So we come to the next level of riders, those that might win races, but for one reason or another won't win the title unless something goes wrong for the top three.

Nicky Hayden has been suggesting that Honda need to improve Link. He had a truly awful year defending his title on a bike that really didn't suit. He also knows he isn't Honda's chosen son. His prospects for the title are not brillant, but he has some things in his favour. He usually finishes and steadily racks up the points. That payed off in 2006 of course. But he does need to win races against the Stoners and Rossis. He hasn't shown that he can do it yet.

Loris Capirossi must have been mortified to watch Stoner do in one seasaon what he had missed out in 4 at Ducati. He never got on with the 800cc Ducati, though he did manage to win in Japan. Ducati offered him a ride with the satellite D'antin team, but wisely rejected it in favour of starting again at Suzuki, possibly remembering the frustration he felt at Honda being on a customer bike.

It all depends on how good the Suzuki is, and they are due a championship season by their cycles. But testing hasn't gone well with Suzuki fast at one track and then slow at the other. Not title winning or even race winning form. But they certainly have lots of experience to draw on.

His team mate Chris Vermuelen will probably win it it rains. But of course he wants to win in the dry as well. But the problems hampering Capirossi will probably affect him too.

Marco Melandri finally got into Ducati this year, he stayed put on the promise of factory equipment from Honda, which went down the pan when Honda realised that the RC212V was completely outpaced and accelerated development for the factory Repsol bikes leaving Marco out in the cold. He packed up and moved to the greener race winning pastures of Ducati.

Where it's not exactly gone to plan. He's been completely hammered by Stoner in testing and while he insists here that it's all coming together I don't think it will click quicky enough for him to challenge.

That said Marco knows how to win races and if he gets the feel he's after he could spoil the party for the top three.

The others, but not the rookies


These riders are living in hope of springing the odd surprise and stacking up some decent results.

Randy De Puniet is famous for crashing, but has turned in some impressive test times. If he ever ran at the front you'd be nervous how long he'd stay upright. But that aside he is a very fast rider and the day must come when he puts it all together.

Shinya Nakano is the compulsary Japanese Honda rider. The move from Kawasaki hasn't gone well so far and it's lucky for him that none of Honda's up and coming home riders are ready for MotoGP yet. Still he is capable of good results, it's just a question of getting them. Perhaps his move to Gresini will help.

The two Kawasaki riders John Hopkins and Anthony West are sure to provide one of the most fascinating inter team battles of the year. Kwakka are an odd team, they look like they might be ready to move forward but always fall short. No wonder they were considering an audacious bid to snatch Rossi from Yamaha.

Hopkins has been in MotoGP since 2002 and is certainly due a win, but of course it's never happened. It would have been pretty galling to see his team mate of last year, Vermuelen use his supreme wet weather skills to take Suzuki's first MotoGP era win. The question is will the move to Kawasaki help at all.

Anthony West, a mid season replacment last year makes up the second half of a pretty strong rider line up for Kawasaki. He will give Hopkins a seriously hard time. The Aussies are having a good time of it at the moment.

The two D'antin Ducati riders will find themselves with the best bike, but is their team capable of running it. The last few seasons suggest not. Though Alex Barros suggested that the relationship with the factory became frosty last year after he beat Stoner in Mugello. Perhaps they need to be fast, but not too fast.

Toni Elias of course won the best race of 2006 in Portugal and saved his career. Last year his aggressive riding attracted critiscim from none other than Valentino Rossi, perhaps pot calling kettle black, but nonetheless..

I guess he can do a lot more damage on the more powerful Ducati.

Most people are happy that everyone's favourite Derbyshire accented Frenchman Slyvian Guintoli ended up with a ride. After his heroic performances on the Dunlop shod Yamaha last year it would have been grossly unfair if he'd dropped off the grid. Indeed if Jorge Lorenzo hadn't moved up to MotoGP it's likely he would be partnering James Toseland in a kind of all British team.

If D'antin give him the bike he'll cause trouble.

Lastly we come to the rider that took Guintoli's seat Colin Edwards. Kicked out of the factory squad by Jorge Lorenzo, he's accepted a role of acting as team mate James Toseland mentor in his first season.

Always good value in interviews it would have been a shame to have lost him. If there is even the tiniest speck of a chance of getting that elusive first win he'll be on it.

The rookies

It's a pretty good crop this year.

There's two champions who handily are on the same machine which will give an interesting comparison.

Jorge Lorenzo is the team mate Rossi didn't want. Probably not because he celebrates wins in a Rossi style, but more because Yamaha see him as Rossi's eventual successor and The Doctor won't like that at all.

Lorenzo has been making suitably humble noises about learning the ropes this year. But you suspect if he can make Rossi's life difficult he won't hesitate. He will at least want to be top rookie.

James Toseland the World Superbike champion is attempting to make a leap that his predecessor at Ten Kate Honda Chris Vermulen successfully made, the transition from Superbike to GP rider.

It's been pretty good so far, he's been high up in the testing times. But it would unfair to expect too much this year. To be honest by the standards of the last few Brits to try MotoGP just getting in the top ten and earning a second year would be something. Knowing JT though, he won't settle for that.

Lorenzos rivals in 250cc Andrea Dovizioso and Alex De Angelis will be itching for some payback.

Andrea Dovizoso's reward for not moaning how underpowered his Honda 250 was last year in comparison to Lorenzo's all conquering Aprilia is elevation to MotoGP. This time though the power is a bit more even and whilst it won't be top of the agenda you can beat he'll be well satisfied if he beats Lorenzo this year. He's certainly shown promise.

Finally we come to Alex De Angelis, who to be honest was exposed as a bit of a bottler in 250's. Time and again he'd lead a race, only to crack when the screws were applied.

It's difficult to say how well he'll go, but perhaps he is one of these riders who needs the bigger machines to show what he can do.


TV times

Because it's a night race things are bit different:

Sunday 7th March

BBC Three

MotoGP Race Live: 7.30pm to 9.00pm

BBC Two

MotoGP highlights

12.00am to 1.00am

British Eurosport

4.45pm-6.00pm 125cc Race Live
6.00pm-7.15pm 250cc Race Live
7.15pm-9.00pm MotoGP Race Live

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All done!