What intrigues us most about the upcoming Sepang test? Let's take a moment to really think about it.
Obviously the performance of the Ducati GP12, and whether Valentino Rossi will finally adapt to the Desmosedici, is the first thing that comes to mind. But there's more.
Among the other points of interest will be Casey Stoner's form, with an eye on what effect, if any, his impending fatherhood will have on his riding. Will he be on edge at having left the expecting Adriana at home? We could even envision him riding for just one day and then leaving to rush back to her. Considering the enormous resources at Honda's disposal, once the January 30th team presentation is out of the way, we could imagine Casey putting in a handful of laps, deciding that everything feels good, and then heading right home.
In all honesty we aren't particularly interesting in what Dani Pedrosa will be doing. The Spaniard has already given us a very good idea of what he has to offer. We know that he's very fast, among the fastest on the planet, but that the arrival of Stoner has shown him in a new light. If Dani wants to regain his status as team leader, he has his work cut out for him. Furthermore, with Stefan Bradl on a Honda this season and Marc Marquez ready to move up in 2013 (assuming he heals), Pedrosa needs to stop showing promise and start scoring results.
Conversely, he situation at Yamaha is something we are curious about: will they finally take another step with the M1 and give Jorge Lorenzo a bike he can really compete with? Maybe it's just our impression, but since the departure of Valentino Rossi it seems like the Iwata manufacturer has been putting in a little less effort. It's almost as if, after several consecutive years of success, they feel fully satisfied. That said, the difficult economic situation and lack of a true sponsor must also be factors.
Adding a bit of tension to the Yamaha garages will be the arrival of Andrea Dovizioso: he has made it quite clear that he's gunning for Ben Spies' factory seat. The Italian may not be at 100% fitness for this first test, but we still see it as the opening salvo in their season-long battle.
Plenty of attention will also be paid to Colin Edwards and his Suter-BMW. The Texan gave his team a long list of improvement to make following the Valencia test, with particular emphasis on the electronics. And while he claims that "running in the 2'02" or 2'03" range would be good," before they start to concentrate on the chassis, what happens if the gap to the prototypes gets larger instead of smaller? We wonder.
As we are wondering why, after more than a year of waiting, most of the CRT's aren't even ready to test? We see it as a considerable sign of weakness with the new category, and evidence that Dorna's efforts to make things harder for the Japanese manufacturers (and Ducati) have really once served to benefit another manufacturer: Aprilia.
There is trouble on the horizon, we would swear by it, because Honda, Yamaha and Ducati (as Claudio Domenicali hinted at Wrooom) will not sit by and do nothing.
A sensible solution can only be reached when (and if) the FIM decides to reassume it's position of leadership, which includes writing the rules of the game. Having them dictated by Dorna is not only wrong, it makes series look bad. At the moment, Vito Ippolito, president of the FIM, has little or no influence and is merely an observer. And this has changed our sport. We realize the days of Nicolas Rodil Del Valle and Francesco Zerbi, just to name two more decisive presidents, are long gone, but more authoritative involvement is a must.
Twelve prototypes is not merely an alarm, is a blaring siren. And nine CRT's aren't much of a lifeline to cling
