s you read this, the 2007 MotoGP World Championship series will be about half over. This is the first season for the new 800cc motors, downsized from the original 990cc capacity. It was logical to expect that the smaller motors would not be as fast as the previous versions. Interestingly, the smaller, lighter bikes are easier to ride and lap times this season have been as fast, and in some cases, faster than before.      Honda has the biggest bag of marbles to play with, so you always expect them to have the fastest bikes. And arch-rival Yamaha is always right there doing “more with less.” But to everyone’s surprise, it was Ducati that was ready with the most when the flag fell in Qatar for the opening round of the season and riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi have had more than enough straightaway speed to give their Japanese-made competition some real fits all season long.      Nicky Hayden got the cover for our June issue for the second year in a row. We thought it was fitting for the World Champion, plus he’s riding a two-year win streak into the upcoming Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Nicky’s 800cc Honda didn’t have the speed early in the season to place well and he has run far off his pace of 2006 that led to his first world title. But a third straight win in front of his home audience could help redeem his season, and no one knows that better than Nicky. His Repsol Honda, and those of fellow Honda riders in the series have begun to show signs that the new motor is now ready to run with the Ducatis and I suspect we’ll see one of the Honda riders on the top of the podium soon.      Yamaha picked up a new major sponsor this year from the Fiat automobile company and the Fiat Yamaha team has been in the thick of the battle at every race. Former World Champion Valentino Rossi has given it 110% this year in his bid for an 8th title and his American teammate Colin Edwards has also run very well, even winning the pole position in qualifying for the French GP.      Suzuki fans have been pleasantly surprised with how well the new 800cc Suzukis have run thus far. America’s John Hopkins has been on the podium this year and it looks more and more like he will bag his first win one of these days soon. His teammate Chris Vermuelen did just that in France.      Kawasaki has had some promising moments with its new MotoGP model, but at press time, no podium appearances just yet. They thrilled the world at the French Grand Prix with Randy De Puniet leading the race in the rain, but a hard crash on the wet track ended his day, and Kawasaki’s hopes for a win at LeMans.      Three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts, Senior’s Team KR has yet to make a podium either, but he continues to impress the world with his private effort to run a competitive MotoGP team. With nowhere near the kind of budgets the factories work with, his KR212V fitted with five-cylinder Honda motors soldiers on. The team started the year with Roberts’ son Kenny Junior (2000 World Champion), as the sole rider on the team. Junior’s brother Kurtis was brought on in May for some spot appearances to help the team develop the machine even further.

Parts Magazine
Volume 14 #6

Parts Magazine Index