Good lord.

Might I have to eat my words? Could Edwards be fast this year? Could this be the return to form all Edwards fans have eagerly awaited since that epic battle with Bayliss at the end of the 2002 season?

That's OK, I didn't think so either. While Colin is setting the testing world alight so far this year, once the season starts, he just doesn't seem to be able to keep it all together. He is a great teammate for a rider like Rossi who is nigh on infallible and can't be beat. Colin will do what is best for the team, even if it is not in his best interests. Kind of like Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari in the Schumacher days...

I must say that watching the pre-season this year has been great, the Suzukis are finally fast, the Kawasakis are fast, the Ducatis are really fast, basically, for the first time in a few years, it wont be a Honda vs. Yamaha series. I cant wait to see Hopper battling with Rossi for wins, and Vermuelen should be on pace this year too.

While I love that Nicky won the championship this past year, I think that Rossi is going to pull the pin in Qatar and never look back. I don't think that Nicky has the pace to run with him, and it surely doesn't help that Honda has picked Pedrosa as their great white hope. Hell the whole 800 bike has been built to fit a miniature person like Pedrosa, if you look at Hayden on it, he is bigger than the bike. It's funny that even after winning Honda the championship, they still aren't willing to support Nicky. Whatever, maybe Puig is a better negotiator than Nicky's manager, who knows how Honda got it in their heads that Pedrosa is the next best thing since sliced bread. All I do know is that they are basically putting all of their efforts into one rider when they could double their chances at the coveted manufacturers championship if they gave both of their riders bikes that were suited to them.

As for last year, I have been reading a lot of blogs and forums where people are voicing that Hayden didn't deserve the title last year. To these people, all I have to say is this: He earned it the same way Rossi earned it, by having the most points at the end of the year. Sure, it wasn't sexy, he didn't set the world on fire with wins at half the races, but who said a championship was supposed be to be won by the guy with the most wins? It almost always ends up that way, (because the points are geared that way) but not always. A championship is almost always won by the most consistent rider in the field, end of story. Look at Ben Spies in the states, he won the championship because he was the most consistent rider out there last year. Of course Mat Mladin had his number on a bunch of occasions, but not often enough to really win him the title. So, Nicky earned his title, and I am glad he did, but I do remember saying last year, "if he doesn't win it this year, he's never going to win it", and I consider myself a Hayden fan!

I don't want to count him out because he is an incredible rider, but he better be bringing his A-game from Qatar through the end of the season because you can bet that Rossi will be back on form following his loss. I would say that I would be happy if Nicky only beat Pedrosa and stuck it the face of Honda that he is a better rider, even when everything is against him. (Which it seems the world is) One thing you can say about Nicky is that he rides with heart, he is a person, rather than the automaton that is Pedrosa.

So, here is my prediction for the upcoming MotoGP season:

1. Rossi
2. Hopper
3. Nicky
4. Pedrosa
5. Edwards

I have to admit, I am a Ducati fan, I actually bought a 748 early 2005 and absolutely love it. I have not been able to ride it much because I wadded it up in April of '05 and have had to spend quite a while getting it back running. My brother has had it in his shop for over a year, mostly waiting on me to get to get him the parts he needs to make it work.

With this in mind, I have been super-excited to hear about the new 1098 that Ducati has released. The specs are unbelievable, and they finally went back to their roots in design and made it into a super-sexy machine. I dont think that they will ever get back to the beautiful design of the 916 series, but they have gotten close. It has hints of the CBR 1000RR, but then there are also some uniquely Ducati parts as well. They went back to the single-swingarm, and also made it stronger than the traditional swingarm. They kept the indertail exhaust, and of course, made it feel super-small to sit on.

I would say that if I had $15K to blow, I would definitely be picking it up. Of course, that would mean that i would have to get rid of the current Duck and the 900RR I have.

Looking at the current pre-season testing has been great this year, the 2007 season is going to be one to watch. I can't wait for the MotoGP, SBK and AMA season openers. Ben Spies is looking good in the Pre-season testing, so are his teammates. Hopefully Honda will be doing a better job of getting the CBR up to snuff for the Superbike season, and finally Eric B is back on a superbike, I can't wait to see him in action again.

The MotoGP testing has shown that Ducati is going to be a force to be reckoned with this year, and Honda has some work to do on their motor to get it back to the envy of the paddock. Nicky has been able to keep the 800 rolling pretty fast, but it seems that his pace is a little bit off in his race simulations. Suzuki has shown something good in the testing at Sepang, but didnt seem to go as well in testing at Philip Island, so I will wait and see how that bike will perform. No one is questioning the drive that Jon Hopkins has for hiw first win in the series, hopefully this will be his year and we will have more Americans fighting for the championship. I dont think that Colin is going to do much more than play second fiddle to Rossi again. I would love to see he and Bayliss going head to head in the World Superbike series again, they had some truly epic battles and I dont think that Troy Corser has what it takes to challenge Bayliss. Corser is an unblievable rider, but Bayliss just takes it to another level.