bit of a giant, is also in the team. Man, it's like coming home. So now I'm happy and settled, but I've kinda screwed up the family plans. As I speak, I've got two weeks at home before a three-day test at Sepang. It seems a bit close, right? But all I

on the outer edges for optimum grip at extreme angles, and a harder centre compound for longevity.Michelin claims that the new tyre has a 51-degree lean angle, a mere 4 degrees less than its pukka MotoGP rubber, and we were invited to the Sepang F1 circuit

to 800s his results have been little better than average. So too were the Hondas he was riding. Nicky being Nicky, everyone cut him some slack, and hoped for the best.We can still do the same after his Sepang test put him tenth to Stoner’s first, 1

from a heavy crash at first Sepang tests, was a tentative 15th.Even class rookies Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa were quicker.Let’s hope it’s just a ritenuto (temporary holding back), and that JT will be where he belongs when the racing starts for real

and keep it there. With the Honda, you couldn't even get to that edge as the chatter was so bad. On day two of the three-day Sepang test I actually found myself going faster than Valentino. That wasn't quite the plan. I mean, sure, I wanna beat him, but I

. If the norm is now wet days at Valencia with 5¡C, then we can all go test in northern Europe, at circuits local to the teams. Some suggest going to Sepang for an all-out test a month or so before the season commences. Or even, if all goes well with this year

with the Grand Prix Commission and put forward the proposal for the project.The commission said that the proposal will now be studied and an announcement will be made on 18th October 2008 in Sepang, Malaysi about who will supply all the tyres for the premier

every weekend of the season.Same Ol' Same Ol'As the MotoGP circus arrived at Sepang, this weekend looked like being no different. Dark clouds pregnant with rain threatened from the Malacca Strait, and every day would dump their contents onto the circuit

on his Desmosedici GP10 which did not result in any injury. The Australian’s time was less than a tenth of a second off his 2009 pole position time at the circuit.Valentino Rossi, who had topped the timesheet in the two previous Tests at Sepang

bit disingenuous, of course - slapping down Melandri and Hayden, both of whom came on pretty strong later on. But it shows he does take Dani seriously. The last tests of the year seemed to confirm Valentino's thoughts. On only his fourth day on the V5