[Acidreign]

By Alan Baldwin / LONDON(Reuters) - Valentino Rossi faces the challenge of new and younger rivals in what could be a watershed season for the charismatic king of MotoGP.

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa makes his debut in front of his home crowd this weekend after winning the 125 and 250cc titles while Italian Marco Melandri is a real contender to end his compatriot's five-year reign.

Pedrosa is just 20 while Melandri, winner of the last two races of 2005, is 23. Both will be riding for Honda in Sunday's season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at the southern Jerez circuit.

Young Australians Casey Stoner (Honda) and Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) are also making their MotoGP debuts.

"This year my main rivals have changed and the average age is much younger, so I will have to work out their strengths and weaknesses," observed Rossi, 27, who was unhappy with his Yamaha in final tests at Jerez.

"I have watched the career of Dani Pedrosa very closely since he was in 125cc and I have always been impressed by him and I expect him to be strong from the first race.

"Besides him, there are many different riders, manufacturers and teams that have been fast at different times throughout the pre-season.

"I hope we can have some really good battles for the fans."

Rossi won 11 times in 2005 to claim his fifth successive title in the top class -- including every MotoGP title since the category replaced 500cc in 2002 -- but his plans beyond 2006 remain a mystery.

Italy's highest paid sportsman has tested repeatedly for the Ferrari Formula One team and is mulling over a switch to four wheels.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, with Ferrari's Michael Schumacher suggesting that the Italian was good enough but others doubting that he really wants to make the considerable leap.

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."

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.

((SPORT-MOTORCYCLING-PREVIEW, editing by Pritha Sarkar, London Sports Desk; +44 207 542 7933))

[Zippy]

Looks like we're in for a really good year of MotoGP! Some really great young racers will be pushing Rossi to the limit. It doesn't sound like he'll be as dominant this year, but he could still win more than any other single competitor. It will be great fun to see how all these guys do.

[luvtolean]

As stated before, that article sucks.

It's evident Baldwin doesn't like Americans.

[abtech]

Originally Posted by luvtolean

As stated before, that article sucks.

It's evident Baldwin doesn't like Americans.

Except for Kenny Roberts and company. Maybe this Baldwin character is what KR was referring to when he mentioned getting "good people on the staff" . . .

[CBR929RE]

actually I wouldn't say it sucks because he doesn't mention the americans as having a chance. I'd say it sucks cause he just throws out a bunch of the top names. Basically all he did was state who's riding what in what series.


Still should be an awesome season. 250 should also be fun to watch. Luethi will probably take 125 again, I'm gonna say he's a future MotoGP champ. He looks like he can ride the crap outta that little bike (and I like how his bike looks, really jumps out at ya)

[luvtolean]

Originally Posted by abtech

Except for Kenny Roberts and company. Maybe this Baldwin character is what KR was referring to when he mentioned getting "good people on the staff" . . .