When Chaz Davies was drafted in at very short notice to replace Alex Hofmann at Laguna Seca, after the German had injured his hand after being T-boned by Laguna rookie Sylvain Guintoli, he impressed a lot of people in the MotoGP paddock, getting up to speed very quickly on a type of machine he'd never ridden before, at a track he'd never ridden at before, using tires and brakes he'd never used before. After a test session at Mugello in September, he was drafted in to replace Hofmann for the rest of the season, the German having been sacked after the Portuguese GP at Estoril.

That Ducati took the entire paddock by surprise with the horsepower of the GP7 was obvious from the opening race of the season. Since then, Ducati's competitors have been scrambling to find more power from their own engines, in an attempt to keep up. Perhaps the worst affected were pre-season favorites Honda, who were widely expected to sweep the 2007 championship, under the new rules.

Confusion reigns about the future of Fiat Yamaha. Valentino Rossi's move to Bridgestone tires for 2008 is either a dead certainty, according to the usually well-informed Toby Moody over at Autosport.com, or unlikely to happen, if you believe the reports of what Rossi told an Italian TV crew, as carried by the Spanish daily AS.com.

The world of MotoGP is to be kept in suspense for a little while longer. A decision on Carmelo Ezpeleta's divisive and extremely controversial proposal to switch the MotoGP series to a single tire has been put on hold for a little longer.

With the news yesterday that Fausto Gresini was talking to Max Biaggi about riding in MotoGP, after the Roman Emperor had failed to agree terms with the Alstare Suzuki World Superbike team, the only question was whether Honda would be gracious, or perhaps desperate enough to allow Biaggi to race a Honda again.

It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast in climate than the chilly, blustery spring conditions of Phillip Island, which the MotoGP circus has just left, and the slow broil of Sepang, set slap bang in the middle of the tropics, where they head to this weekend. You would think that two tracks, set thousands of miles apart, one probably the closest race track to the equator on the planet, the other one of the most southerly, located on the edge of the southern hemisphere's temperate zone, would be worlds apart when it comes to motorcycle racing.

In response to news yesterday that Team KR were talking to Ilmor about supplying them with engines, today, Motorcycle News is saying that their first option is still to lease Ducati GP7s for 2008.

In response to news yesterday that Team KR were talking to Ilmor about supplying them with engines, today, Motorcycle News is saying that their first option is still to lease Ducati GP7s for 2008.

The rumor that Max Biaggi will be making a return to MotoGP has been floating around almost from the moment Max left the paddock under a cloud at the end of the 2005 season. Any time a seat became vacant, the name Biaggi was almost always the first one on the tips of everyone's tongues. So our initial reaction to the reports emerging from various sources (most clearly at Autosport.com) that Biaggi could return to MotoGP for the 2008 season is take it with a sizable pinch of salt.

The arrival of the Ilmor 800 cc X3 bike was one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the last days of the 2006 season, and many people had high hopes for the outfit, with an engine designed by Formula 1 genius Mario Illien, and a chassis created by Eskil Suter, the man behind the original Kawasaki ZXRR MotoGP bike, as well as the MuZ 500 cc two stroke racer.

The arrival of the Ilmor 800 cc X3 bike was one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the last days of the 2006 season, and many people had high hopes for the outfit, with an engine designed by Formula 1 genius Mario Illien, and a chassis created by Eskil Suter, the man behind the original Kawasaki ZXRR MotoGP bike, as well as the MuZ 500 cc two stroke racer.