and one year behind defending champion Dani Pedrosa. Dovizioso in particular looks like the real deal, but he's only one among a clutch of fast class rookies. And sooner or later they're all going to arrive in MotoGP.One thing they'll learn in the smaller

! But it doesn't guarantee unquestioning loyalty from the fans.The change has come via the smaller classes. Toni Elias is already in MotoGP and looking good; his former 125 rival Dani Pedrosa is on the way, via dominance in the 250 class. New to 250s, Jorge

Gibernau and Melandri in MotoGP, Pedrosa and Aoyama in 250s and a major junior series in Spain. Gauloises are feared ready to quit, if Rossi's plan to run in a separately sponsored so-called 'satellite' team come to fruition. At the same time, Team Roberts

. And it was fantastic. If you like racing mayhem. There were numerous near-collisions in the narrow pit lane - both bike-on-bike and bike-on-bloke. And several wildly unfair lucky or unlucky breaks - Hayden and Vermeulen both gained, Pedrosa lost. All in all

meditation and spiritual renewal in preparation for 2007's title campaign, we kindly offer some help with their new year resolutions:Nicky Hayden: Get anger management training... he's not angry enough.Dani Pedrosa: Learn to control his emotions. He actually

th, then abandoned it before the race. It won't be seen again until tests after Brno. But his result in Britain, a season-worst seventh, suffered for it. Honda aren't making it easy for him.The new kids - Pedrosa and Stoner - keep on punching above

and grooved, to restore lost flex. And it seemed to work pretty well.First and second places in Italy (with Pedrosa's Honda number two) were a welcome relief for Michelin, after a spectacular own goal at their home GP in France. It was for the simplest

Olivier Jacque, Carlos Checa, Marco Melandri, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso are even now ostentatiously propping up the bar at their local pubs, assimilating the English way of life they love. And marking down days of residence to prove

and Pedrosa were knocked off by Jacque doing an Elias on the first lap, leaving only Rossi able to do anything on the French rubbers.Then his tyre developed some sort of internal blister, and he fell back rapidly - leaving the first six places behind winner

your tyres, or I make the one-tyre rule. In favour of Michelin.”And so it came to pass, on the evening after the last race of the year, Rossi confirmed the switch. He was fully aware of the irony that but a few hours before, Pedrosa had won on Michelins