Just noticed that Pedrosa is now the favourite in the poll on the main site as Rossi's number one competitor this year.

I can't wait to see both of them racing on equal terms next weekend, but just how well do you guys think he can do in his first season in MotoGP?

As a Hayden fan, I must admit it I was bummed to see Pedrosa smoke his teammate. The jump from 250 to GP is a big one, but he is obviously ready.

Watching the Repsol team in Jerez showed two very different riding styles with equal machines. Hayden has that American "back it in" to the turn style, Pedrosa the classic "smooth" style you get when you come up through the 125 & 250 series. Smooth is best.

Pedrosa is fast, no doubt about it. Can he hang with Rossi? I hope so.

It seems that 9 times out of 10 it's the smoothest guy that goes quickest at the end of the day. If you looked at Rossi on the Friday in Jerez he wasn't quickest in any sector but was still the overall fastest rider out there.

Hayden's motocross-ish backing it in everywhere style is awesome to watch but it probably doesn't do him too many favours (especially with his tyres!). Pedrosa on the other hand is right at the other end of the scale, he even seemed to be taking tighter lines than Hayden did at times during the Jerez GP. :eek:

Nicky is definitely a likeable bloke and I'd probably prefer to see him at the sharp end rather than Pedrosa in a way, but like you say, if Dani can take the fight to Rossi this year then you'll hear no complaints from me. :D

Yeah it seems the 250 guys coming through always do that bit better. Colin Edwards had that SBK style of just parking the bike in some turns, picking it up and gassing out. He had to reinvent his style to up the corner speed a la Rossi. I think the problem for Nicky unfortunately is that if a pattern develops where Dani is challenging for the front consistantly, then HRC's development will go in Dani's direction and favour his style. I really think Nicky has to up his game this year. When does his contract run out?

I believe Hayden's contract is through 06, which puts him in a tough spot because rule number one is do better than your teammate. He needs to learn Dani’s lines and stop trying to square the corners if he wants to win. :roll:

Lets hope both Yamaha and Ducati (Sete) get it together for Qatar. Looking forward to some real battles for the front this season. :D

Sure do miss Biaggi. :neutral:

I can't say I miss Biaggi MD, but I suppose he was always an unknown quantity, just that his last season he was his most consistent in the big class but at the wrong end of the results. Honda are being smart in signing any available promising youngsters, they've got the cash to pour more support into the satellite teams if needed. That's where Nicky has a mountain to climb this year. Pedrosa, Elias and surprisingly Stoner gave a better than good account of themselves in Jerez, so not only has Hayden got to beat Pedrosa week in week out if he wants to stay at Honda, but he's got all these hungry as hell 'kids' to contend with. I'd like to see him pull it off, it would make for some great gp's but I honestly don't think he's got the ability to dig deep and make a big improvement over last year. he's had problems with the 2006 spec bike, moreso a problem that is specific to his style, getting forward drive off a turn. Things looked okay for Dani in Jerez. Toward the end of the race he was sliding quite a lot but looked comfortable with it and was able to ride around it and maintain his pace until the last few laps. I think that is a sign of how talented he is and HRC will be taking notes. I don't know what the political factors involved are regarding how many Yankees Dorna want in the championship but there are four already. Nicky is under pressure this year, I'm sure of that. Remeber this, HRC have only ONE priority, beat Rossi and they won't care how they do it.

I completely agree that Hayden has his work cut out this year. Don't forget he's stuck with the development rider job which isn't really likely to do any favours in that he has to spend test time on that rather than just looking out for number one as all the other Honda riders are now able to.

You mentioned that development could swing towards Dani's style but tbh I don't think that would be a big concern to Nicky as if you look at all the Hondas they mostly have previous generation kit that the riders are happy with rather than the cutting edge stuff which may or may not work brilliantly and is untested to a greater extent.

It seems to me that this year is Nicky's big chance to shine, in that he's built up a few years experience and is now on a very competitive bike. I wouldn't go as far as to say 'now or never' but like you say, HRC don't care who's winning races so long as it's an RCV and he really needs to impress to make sure he's still got a good ride in 2007.