's attended this winter. From the moment an eager public first laid eyes on the Honda 800, vicious tongues were whispering that the pint-sized bike had been designed solely and specifically for the equally pint-sized Pedrosa. The RC212V's 990cc predecessor

to the decline in grid sizes which had been underway for the previous several years. What's more, the Ilmor had been designed and built by Mario Illien, a man with a proven track record in Formula 1. Illien claimed he had learned from the previous efforts

to the year. Mass HysteriaOf course, those two men won't be alone: beside them stand another 18 racers, and around them will be a thronged mass of hysterical race fans in any shape, size or color you can imagine, and plenty you can't. All 225,000 tickets

? Can Suzuki move up to compete for the podium every race? And will Honda finally start finding answers for their troubled 800, or will it all come down to Dani Pedrosa's size and weight advantage? So many questions, and only a few days to wait

champion, Nicky Hayden, perhaps more than anyone, must be hoping that HRC have finally got their sums right. The Kentucky Kid has had a dreadful season aboard a bike which is obviously not suited to either his size or his riding style, and will be hoping

that Misano was the first track that Rossi ever rode a full-sized racing bike at, an Aprilia Futura 125 in November 1992. Since then, of course, The Doctor's career has progressed in leaps and bounds, winning race after race and championship after championship

had set the 2nd fastest time in qualifying on his Kawasaki, despite his knee being swollen to the size of a volleyball. Stoner's jump from 4th to 2nd was no fluke: His Ducati team mate Loris Capirossi had gotten an even more ballistic start, leaping

to the new Honda 800, despite its problems, and has so far posted the best results of the Honda riders. His smooth style suits the new class, and his small size fits the Honda philosophy of mass centralization. Despite all this, Pedrosa is still nowhere near

helped by their small stature. Pedrosa's size was especially useful down the back straight, his light weight allowing him to get more drive out of Turn 13, and his small frame allowing him to tuck behind the Honda's minuscule fairing, the Spanish prodigy

at Assen, battered Stoner's big Ducati fairing about. On lap 21 Rossi sized up Stoner once again through the Ramshoek into the chicane, and 2 laps later, at the same spot, Rossi carried a fraction more speed through the fast, vicious left-hand kink and slid