Yamaha are said to have a truckload of cases that look very much like engine crates. An M1 with pneumatic valves has been mentioned. There are other rumours swirling round this paddock so mad that I'm not going to print them even as rumours because people start wanting to believe them.
Speculation continues to rage about Tech III's choice of rubber for next year. All Yamahas on Michelin? It would seem to make sense.
Luis d'Antin is still mulling over who will ride in his Ducati satellite team. He's got a brace of virtual factory Desmosedicis there and he wants riders who can get more podiums than the solitary one scored this year (by Alex Barros at Mugello). Barros and partner Alex Hofmann are still on his short list, but d'Antin is also talking to 250cc runners
Alex de Angelis,
Andrea Dovizioso and Hiroshi Aoyama. de Angelis and Dovizioso also figure in Gresini Honda's plans, with
Toni Elias now a possibility to remain now that talk of a third Suzuki has receded.
Tomorrow? A storm could rip through here and change most of this. It won't stay calm for long.
Saturday am - Stoner Could Join Elite Gang of Five
As we wait to see whether
Casey Stoner can take his seventh race victory of the season here at Brno on his Marlboro Ducati, I start to wonder – how many other riders have won a MotoGP or 500cc world championship in their first season with a new team?
Answer - thanks to
MotoGP's official statistician Dr Martin Raines - only five in grand prix racing's 59-year history. They are: Geoff Duke (Gilera) 1953; John Surtees (MV) 1956;
Kenny Roberts Snr (Yamaha) 1978; Eddie Lawson (Honda) 1989; and
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2004.
And then I'm thinking: well, how does Stoner rate in terms of race wins after 27 starts (the number he has completed in his two seasons in MotoGP)? After diving into some incredible programme on his laptop, the doc slides the answer up the table on a sheet of paper.
