on the Suzukis, Capirossi on the Ducati, and Pedrosa on the Honda 800 all finished within 0.1 seconds of each other. Freshly crowned MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden was a couple of tenths behind, but the reason for this would only appear later.The next day

of the race, the question was whether Pedrosa could answer Rossi's charge. The Doctor put in lap after lap of fast, flowing racing, and lap after lap, Pedrosa hung on, closing up by 1/10th one lap, only to lose 1/10th the next. Colin Edwards broke first

speed on towards the next of the right-handers at Turn 12, before braking seriously hard for Turn 13 and the tight Curva del Carro at 14. This series of right handers is just about the only place on the track where passing is possible

from other teams, a remarkable step, as Pedrosa has been with Honda since entering Grand Prix in 2001. Unless HRC can turn the RC212V around, the unthinkable might happen, and Pedrosa might start to look elsewhere for a ride in 2008. He'll be looking

of supporting his former team mate Rossi, Edwards is in with a genuine shot at the win here.James Toseland isn't too bad at Assen either. Like Edwards, he came within inches of victory here in the second Superbike race last year, denied the double by just 0.009

for Turn 11. If you make it through here in one piece, it's back on the gas and changing up through the gears, bracing yourself once again to face the fearsome Turn 1. You've barely had time to draw breath, and you're already getting ready to work your way

There is a distinct element of deja vu to Sunday's Catalunya Grand Prix at Barcelona. Just last week, the MotoGP circus was in a bike-mad country, at a circuit sure to attract some 100,000 fans on race day, all clamoring for their local heroes. Once

on lap 11, with a lap of 1'34.215. Another lap of 1'34.2 on lap 12 saw The Doctor's lead grow to over 2.6 seconds, and by now he was the fastest man on track by a considerable margin. If Casey Stoner or Dani Pedrosa wanted to stop Rossi from running away

down through the flowing section of Turns 10 through 12, lining you up through the decreasing radius sweeper of Turn 13, before braking hard once again for the next hairpin, Turn 14. But all is not lost if they manage to get past you there

and mountains dotted all around the country.This Spanish obsession with motorcycle racing places a heavy burden on their home riders. With some 120,000 paying fans, not to mention the tens of thousands of gatecrashers inside the track and fee dodgers lining