MOTOGP » Hayden on top as Jerez falls silent.

As usual, the Hayden bashers are out in force. It seems from the comments from some of you that if he had an Italian or Spanish passport then that World Championship in 2006 would have been destiny, God's Will, or a marked display of the superiority of his breed. Instead he's viewed as some sort of blindly lucky usurper to the crown and an interloper upsetting the natural order of things. Many of the same folks rail on about Stoner, but have a more difficult time putting him down because of his 10 race wins last season. Well, times have changed and there's just no doubting the talent of either of the last two champs. Anyone who does is indeed a "blind cheerleader."

MOTOGP » Hayden on top as Jerez falls silent.

I think he'll win races this season, provided Honda gets the pneumatic engine right. The '08 chassis already seems to be worlds better than where they started in '07. Hayden's got to be counted among the contenders at the USA rounds as well as the other tracks he goes well at like Assen and Philip Island.

MOTOGP » Hayden rises to the occasion.

What so Toby and Julian have access to the settings data on the bikes? I've got a lot of respect for each of those guys, but I can't get Eurosport so I don't know what exactly was said. However, Julian says no such thing in his column on Superbikeplanet.com. It doesn't make sense that Hayden is sharing Pedrosa's settings - he weighs a lot more and rides the bike differently than Pedrosa. Full marks to Dani on a great race, but give Hayden credit for his efforts. He was in the running for a podium until the near-crash. Which was no fluke. If I or anybody else on this forum did it, it would be a fluke. With these guys, it's no fluke. Can't wait for Estoril!

MOTOGP » Pedrosa supreme for Spanish home win.

zx9r steve- Pedrosa schooled everybody on Sunday, not just Hayden. There were 4 riders who were clearly the class of the field - both Repsol Honda riders and both Fiat Yamaha riders. Throw in Stoner and there's your championship contender list. The rest are fighting for scraps, at least until the Yamaha satellite riders get some more ponies. But that'll probably happen too late to affect the championship. There appears to be not much wrong with the 07 Honda engine, but if they get a more powerful pneumatic engine soon then look out! With Honda concentrating resources on that motor the sattelite teams may suffer. It's nice not to hear so much about tires like we did last season. So far.

MOTOGP » Pedrosa supreme for Spanish home win.

Some really exciting racing going on behind Pedrosa. Great ride from Dani, but I still don't like him. Never will. It's good to see Rossi starting to really gel with his Bridgestones. No doubt that was an important podium for him. Lorenzo showed much maturity in keeping it together once he was passed, especially since he wasn't able to run the pace he had in practice. Hayden seems so much more comfortable on this new bike, I'm sure he'll continue improving and will be on the podium again soon. I'm so glad that James Toseland is in MotoGP. What a gritty performance given his physical condition. He's a real tough guy!

MOTOGP » Crash.net's Spanish GP blog: Saturday.

Maarten, Thanks much, dude.

MOTOGP » Free practice times (3) - Jerez.

14 riders within a second and the top 8 within 1/2 second. This is going to be a real dogfight. I can't wait. Let the elbows fly and the fairing banging begin! Loris Capirossi is the top Bridgestone rider!?! Go Loris!

MOTOGP » Can Rossi stop the rot?

Rossi''s comments about the bike and tires being really good show, to me, that he''s under an incredible amount of pressure. There''s no reason to think that he won''t at least be on the podium at Jerez, given the improvement in the M1, his record at the circuit, and what has to be an ever-increasing hunger for a win. This guy is far from finished and is probably the most highly motivated rider out there right now.

MOTOGP » Hayden: You can't beat wild weekend.

Thankfully Qatar is over. While I agree that the pressure on Hayden for results is growing, I would say the same thing is true for anybody not named Stoner. I for one can't wait for the show to move on to racing at tracks with actual fans and surface temperatures that don't drop like a stone. I know it's the same for everybody, but we'll know better where things really stand after Jerez and Estoril.

MOTOGP » Hayden: You can't beat wild weekend.

Look, all I'm saying is that after the complete nightmare that the 2007 season was I'm hoping that Honda, HRC, Michelin, and the Repsol Honda team can give both riders a chance to compete. The 2007 bike was obviously designed with Pedrosa in mind, and it looks like the 2008 bike is of a little more reasonable scale for someone of Hayden's size. Development of the 08 bike hasn't exactly gone smoothly, but you can't blame Nicky too much. After all, the engine designed for that chassis isn't ready yet. Obviously I'm a Hayden fan, I've enjoyed watching him for many years and am convinced of his talent and drive. He'll overcome these difficulties and succeed if given half a chance. Bet on it.