Carlos Checa (Honda LCR) - Carlos is a likable veteran on the MotoGP circuit. Born in Barcelona, Spain he has a huge following in the sport (Spain is one of the sports biggest supporters). Carlos could have a good season if the Honda proves to be quick.
Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki Racing Team) - Randy is the first in the all French lineup at Kawasaki this year. Randy is well supported in his home country. The Kawasaki could prove a little troublesome this year as it is the first year that the factory has run the team itself.
Alex Hofmann (Pramac d'Antín) - The only German in the sport and is racing on the Pramac Ducati. He replaced Sete Gibernau at the factory team last year for a couple of races while Sete was injured, and proved himself a reliable, quick racer. The customer Ducati is very similar to the factory bike this year, and could prove to be quick.
Alex Barros (Pramac d'Antín) - Alex is back from World Superbike and racing for the customer Ducati team. That makes the Pramac team an all Alex lineup.
Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki Racing Team) - Olivier makes up the second rider in the Kawasaki team. Olivier has been promoted from his test duties of recent years to the main team. Another rider that is liked in his home nation of France.
Sylvain Guintoli (Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3) - Sylvain moves up from the 250cc championship. He has suffered a couple of injuries in testing, however it remains to be seen if he can take the step up to the challenge.
Andrew Pitt (Ilmor) - The third Australian on the grid and another ex-Superbike rider. The Ilmor team has a steep learning curve this year, so do not expect too much.
Jeremy McWilliams (Ilmor) - The only Brit in the 2007 championship. The Irishman is a much loved and admired rider, and is know for his grit and determination even if he's on a bike that's not on the pace. He is still the only Brit to get a pole and win in the MotoGP era of the series.
The Hardware
This year sees a whole new breed of bikes. This is due to the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) governing body trying to reduce the speed of the bikes for safety reasons. One of the most significant changes is in the engine department. Gone are the 990cc engines, in are the new 'slower' 800cc ones. There is also a change to the allowed fuel load: down from 22ltr to 21ltr tanks. The worrying thing is that the 800cc bikes have set new track records at all of their test tracks. This is partially due to the fact that the tyres have improved, and the engine can be placed lower in the chassis allowing for higher corner speeds.
Article comments
1 - alessandro nicolo
MotoGP deserves some attention. Good stuff.
2 - Ashleigh
That's what I thought :)