Highlights

Rossi remains the man to beat at MotoGP

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-21 10:46

The 17-race season will help Rossi decide and the signs are that it will be far more competitive.

Ducati, with Italian Loris Capirossi and Rossi's old Spanish foe Sete Gibernau, and Kawasaki looked quick in testing while Yamaha struggled at Jerez earlier this month.

"Our speed in the corner was down considerably in some places so, where we usually have an advantage with the Yamaha, we were behind," said Rossi.

"I know that when we can use our bike at 100 percent, as we showed in Barcelona, it is the best bike on the grid."

American John Hopkins, the 22-year-old who rides for Suzuki, predicted a battle ahead.

"I don't think there's going to be one clear winner throughout the entire year," he told Reuters. "I think it's going to be quite a mixture of things, a lot closer than it ever has been and I think there's going to be multiple winners."

Former 500cc champion Kenny Roberts, who now runs his own team with his title-winning son and namesake riding for him, agreed it would be harder for Rossi -- but not as much as some people hoped.

"I don't believe a word of it," the former Yamaha team manager said of the outfit's reported problems.

"It's all a smokescreen. A lot of times you have to lay out your own PR to achieve what you want and he (Rossi) certainly has the press at his beck and call so he can say what he wants.

"The Yamaha in my opinion is a very, very good combination and I think it's going to take a lot from anybody to topple that," Roberts told Reuters.

"A lot of it depends on the tyre, a lot on the rider. The equipment I think is as close as I've ever seen it in the four-stroke era from the factories.

"I think it will be closer than last year. It's going to be a great season."

OTHER CATEGORIES

With Pedrosa moving up from 250cc, the title he has won for the last two seasons is up for grabs.

Argentina's Sebastian Porto, joining Pedrosa's former Honda team, hopes to be one of the challengers but Aprilia's Spaniards Jorge Lorenzo and Hector Barbera have looked stronger in pre-season testing.

San Marino's 2003 champion Manuel Poggiali, 23, is also back in the 250s with the Red Bull KTM team after returning to the 125cc championship last year with Gilera.

In that smallest but hard-fought category, Swiss teenager Thomas Luethi is defending his title after recovering from a broken collarbone.