Since we are a community of informed, analytical, unbiased watchers of the finer nuances of motoGp racing here and in just a few hours all the lads will be wandering down to the garages to kick the tyres on their new steeds ( well, Rossi will be late as usual, but JB will probably be there with a magnifying glass and a camera from way early..), what do we hope and actually think will come out of the tests?
At the top of the 'dreams' list surely comes Rossi and JB eliminating the front-end problems of the Duc in 80 seconds
, Stoner blazing off into the stratosphere and Spies notching times a few tenths off Lorenzo's pace. And after lunch, more developments..To get a little more serious: firstly Rossi. If JB says his shoulder is seriously affecting him, I have no doubt that, despite what some feel has become something of a self-serving commentary on Rossi's part, it's damn well true. Unless Ducati bring out something considerably revised in the front-end department, there's not only too much risk but also too much effort required to hold the thing rubber-side down for Rossi to get to serious grips with it. To try to get down towards Stoner's times - and particularly his QP times - would be a damn silly move and quite probably counter-productive, they need to get as much data as possible about everything the bike does to throw it down the road early. Rossi isn't silly enough to let his ego get in the way of development work.
Stoner: more likely to get somewhere towards the wilder expectations, because he seems to have the knack of feeling the limits very quickly and his reaction time to semi-loses is fairly exceptional - he can ride to the ragged edge (and of course, beyond it) almost from the moment he throws his leg over a bike. However, he seems to have learned that he's mortal and that not every bike can go to 11 every time with impunity and he'll, I think, also be wanting to establish his development credentials to HRC from the get-go, lest he be discounted before he's even hit his straps. Realistically, Dovi is the old kid on the block for these next couple of days, Pedrosa is not at all fit though he'll be wanting to throw in a few blazing laps just to stop Stoner piddling on all his trees.
Lorenzo: will surely be feeling the need to lay the foundations of his legacy as the true and undisputed lead rider and developer, and for all the cheesy celebration stuff, he's a damn serious competitor with a great team behind him. He's my pick to emerge with the most consistent very good times throughout the two days though one - or more - of the Repsol triumvirate may pip him for ultimate quickest lap.
Spies: workmanlike but mainly under-the-radar development - by which I mean he'll not set anything alight but I think he'll demonstrate that the Yamaha factory team (has there been a title sponsor announcement yet? - I don't remember one) will have the fires burning both brightly and deeply for next season. My tip for the 'quiet achiever' award.
Hayden - I suspect will be relegated more to 'yardstick' duties for Rossi than given free rein to just go and do his best.
And finally - as an overall comment - I wonder how many of the teams will remember that to develop a winning bike, it's not just necessary to do better than they did this year, but to be better than the rest. In that regard, Yamaha have the undoubted head start and they're not going to be happy to faff around.
