But Stoner's biggest threats could well come from two much more proven grand prix stars in the form of
Dani Pedrosa and Rossi. Spanish star Pedrosa took an unexpected third position at Qatar, despite riding with an injured hand and after much-publicised technical problems for the Repsol Honda team and its new RC212V. Rossi meanwhile insists it's simply a matter of time before his decision to switch to
Bridgestone tyres takes him back to the top, but with
Jerez traditionally having been 'Michelin country' it will be interesting to see how things pan out for the Italian.
Former 125 and 250cc world champion Italian
Loris Capirossi won the
MotoGP race for Ducati at Jerez two years ago. He made his Rizla Suzuki debut in Qatar to finish behind the Tech 3 Yamaha of American
Colin Edwards in eighth place. Frenchman Randy De Puniet was ninth on his LCR Honda debut with Italian
Marco Melandri slowly getting to grips with the factory Ducati in eleventh.
The fastest rider in testing last month at Jerez was Repsol Honda’s
Nicky Hayden, but the 2006 MotoGP world champion season got off to a subdued start with only tenth in Qatar after a late switch to the 2007 bike. The determined American expects to have the latest '08 chassis this weekend, which Pedrosa used with such success at Qatar. HRC's official team will once again be running the '07 spring valve engine.
American
John Hopkins will be happy to have had a three week gap between races after finishing 12th in Qatar on his painful Kawasaki debut, where he battled an injured groin, while Australian
Chris Vermeulen seeks a change of fortune after front tyre problems kept him out of the points in Qatar.
