But in other teams MotoGP, only five events into the new term, are already facing a big turnover of riders - and even a serious talent shortage.
Sylvain Guintoli at Alice d'Antin Ducati and
Anthony West at Kawasaki may be on their way out of
MotoGP.
Marco Melandri must either master the Ducati Desmosedici GP8 or move to another team - it's impossible to imagine this former 250cc world champion and MotoGP race winner being dumped from the category.
Toni Elias is also under-performing with Alice Ducati, but may simply require another team to relight his fire, while
Nicky Hayden's Repsol Honda contract expires at the end of this year.
Chris Vermeulen has had an up and down career at Rizla Suzuki, and may be on the way out if the American Ben Spies is recruited and the factory declines to make a third bike available.
Shinya Nakano at Honda Gresini and
Randy de Puniet at Honda LCR might also be considered moveable.
This means that MotoGP could have two, three or even four vacancies next year. But where will the new talent come from? The top three from last year's 250cc class -
Jorge Lorenzo,
Alex de Angelis and
Andrea Dovizioso - were headhunted for this year, and their successors don't seem to have enough experience to handle 800cc and 210bhp. Meanwhile, World Superbikes is dominated by old hands.
Maybe
Crash.net readers can come up with some useful suggestions...
Friday am - Stoner: 'The Ducati's Just a Motorcycle'
The enigma of Ducati's Desmosedici GP8 continued in this morning's opening practice session, when
Casey Stoner finished a respectable fourth fastest - but
Marco Melandri, Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli toiled round in 15th, 17th and 18th places respectively.
Is there a problem with the GP8? "The Ducati is very fast, but it needs a very special riding style," Guintoli says. "This process is taking a lot more time than we thought."
