de Angelis joins veteran
Shinya Nakano at a new look Gresini Honda team, the only Honda outfit using
Bridgestone tyres, and appears to have carried his raw 250 speed straight over to the 800cc four-stroke.
Former Gresini race winner
Toni Elias takes his aggressive riding style to the Alice Team in 2008, alongside Guintoli, while surprise of the season could be
Randy de Puniet - whose switch from a factory Kawasaki to satellite LCR Honda has seen the Frenchman regularly propelled to the top of the testing timesheets.
Whilst the premier MotoGP class, and Qatar's brand-new million dollar lighting system, will be the main focus of public attention this weekend, there will also be considerable interest in the ever-thrilling lower cylinder categories.
The ultra competitive 250cc class is wide open after the departure of the leading riders to
MotoGP, leaving KTM's Mika Kallio to emerge as one of the pre-season favourites during winter testing.
Kallio clocked fast times at a number of visits to
Jerez and Valencia, was the winner of the final round of 2007, and his maiden appearance in 250cc at Qatar last year could have seen him on the rostrum were it not for some untimely mechanical problems.
Kallio’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama has also had his fair share of misfortune in Qatar. The Japanese rider had been expected to star at the race last year after recording KTM’s then-best ever dry result of fifth in 2006, but crashed out on lap two and suffered a nasty finger injury. He will be one of the expected title contenders this year as the Austrian factory’s machines look stronger than ever.
Heading the Aprilia charge is Mapfre Aspar rider Alvaro Bautista, already a proven race-winner in the 250cc class. The Spaniard is joined in the garage this year by countryman Hector Faubel, one of a cluster of debutants that also includes 125cc success stories Lukas Pesek and Mattia Pasini.
