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Page 3 of 4 Konica Minolta HondaWe reckon: Makoto Tamada had a dreadful season last year, finishing by far the lowest Honda rider with the exception of Troy Bayliss who missed several races due to injury. This year he won't only want to return to the impressive form he had in 2004, he has to. Honda may be desperate for anyone who can beat Rossi, but their patience with Tamada is likely to be running out.
 Makoto Tamada: "This is the year when all our hard work should pay off. We are all more motivated than ever to make sure we perform to the best of our abilities and achieve the results we know we are capable of."
LCR Honda
We reckon: Casey Stoner was initially all set to go to the Sito Pons Camel Honda team for 2006, but after that fell apart in a big way he is now going to continue to race for Lucio Cecchinello under the guise of 'LCR Honda', on a Honda RC211V as you may have already guessed. A reccuring shoulder injury meant Stoner missed the final testing opportunities during the winter, but he is now fit to race in Jerez.
Casey Stoner: "Now I can start the season knowing my shoulder is fixed and just concentrate on riding. But I don't have any big expectations for Jerez and the early races of the season. The Spanish GP will be really be like a test session for me to get the feel of the Honda V5 again, after missing much of the winter testing. I won't be 100% race fit but it's a long season, and a learning year for me, so I have time on my side." Repsol Honda We reckon: With the departure of Max Biaggi and arrival of the 250cc champion Dani Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden has become the team leader and official development rider for the Honda factory team. Whether he likes it or not. Dani Pedrosa is going to be a real focus of attention for race one; Valentino Rossi has named him as one of his biggest challengers and impressive performances in 125cc and 250cc classes have left no doubt as to Dani's talent. What isn't certain however is how Pedrosa will hold up to the full race distance. He's not a big guy and muscling these GP bikes around takes some effort.
Nicky Hayden: "I can't wait for the season opener - I'm really excited about the first race. As if the racing isn't enough, the Jerez crowd gets into the whole thing and that place really goes off. I love racing in Spain, and Jerez is a good track. Everybody involved in the Repsol Honda Team has worked really hard and we've got a committed group of guys here. I hope to reward them for all their efforts over the winter. We are going to bring all we've got!" Dani Pedrosa: "I'm longing to begin the season and Jerez is the best place to do it. The atmosphere is very special, particularly for Spanish riders. My first aim is to finish the race and then to finish as high as possible. Races are always different to testing and I've never competed with these guys yet."
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