With Casey Stoner having dominated practice in Istanbul this far, it was with some trepidation most riders approached this afternoon's official Qualifying Practice. The question foremost in their minds was "How do we stop the Ducatis?" And within 5 minutes of practice starting, their worst fears were confirmed, as the young Australian quickly put his Marlboro Ducati at the top of the timesheets. Their worries were compounded when a minute later, Stoner's team mate Loris Capirossi took over the top spot, becoming the first rider to break into the 1'54s.

After this morning's cold, damp and crash-ridden practice session, this afternoon saw better weather, a completely dry track, and a warning. The warning was aimed at the entire MotoGP field, the issuer was Ducati, and the message was that if they were scared by the Ducatis at Qatar, they should be terrified here. For perched atop the timesheets are the Marlboro Ducati team mates Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi.

On the eve of the Istanbul round of MotoGP, tragedy has already struck. Turkish online newspaper Today's Zaman is reporting that the Turkish Motorcycling Federation will ask the FIM to cancel its contract to host the round. The problem is money.

Well, we have already had our first silly season rumor for the 2008 season, and now the team negotiations seem to be gaining momentum. We had reported last year that Yamaha were interested in World 250 Champion Jorge Lorenzo, and now Autosport.com has further confirmation that Lorenzo is talking to Yamaha for next year.

Rizla Suzuki's John Hopkins has elected not to have surgery on his injured right hand. He damaged the ligament between the lunar and scaphoid bones in a huge highside during pre-season testing at Qatar in February, and has been riding injured every since. He revealed that he had spoken to doctors about having surgery to fix the tear, but decided against the procedure, which would have required a 6 week layoff from racing.

Roberto Locatelli, the 250 cc rider who suffered such a horrific crash at Jerez, is recovering well. He is currently at home, having left hospital yesterday. And despite the terrible injuries he suffered when he careened off the track into a tire wall, he is determined to return to racing. Dr Costa has told him he may be ready to race at the Mugello round in June, but Loca himself is determined to return one round earlier, at Le Mans.

Perhaps the must stunning image of the opening Grand Prix at Losail in Qatar was the Ducati's awe-inspiring power as Casey Stoner pulled away along the front straight, leaving everyone, but most especially the Yamaha of Valentino Rossi, for dead. That image made it blindingly obvious both that Ducati had a huge power advantage, and Yamaha are woefully short of horses. Fortunately for the Fiat Yamaha squad, the next circuit the MotoGP circus visited was Jerez, a track which is much more about maneuverability than about speed.

After Ilmor's withdrawal from MotoGP, the rider people felt most sorry for was Andrew Pitt. He had been dumped by Yamaha from the World Superbike team right at the end of the season, despite winning a race for them, and signed for Ilmor. Then Ilmor withdraw from MotoGP after just one race in the new season. That is a very tough break, by anyone's standard.

The medical profession has thrown up many colorful and memorable phrases. One such is "the bed nearest the door", which is said to be where nursing staff would put the patients they considered most likely to die during the night, so they could be removed without bothering the other patients when they did finally pass away. Now, the phrase has come to be used for anyone or anything about to expire. And in MotoGP, the bed nearest the door is currently occupied by the Ilmor GP project.

Only a month after threatening to pull out of MotoGP due to funding problems, Team KR now seem to be welcoming new sponsors on an almost weekly basis.

Possibly the biggest mystery in motorcycle racing since Max Biaggi failed to get a ride for 2006 ended today: why Neil Hodgson, a rider who is talented, popular and likeable, could not get a ride for the 2007 season, after Ducati pulled out of AMA superbikes at the end of last year. Surely, everyone believed, there must be someone in need of a fast rider?