Doohan: Continuity will carry Rossi to crown.

MotoGP legend Mick Doohan has stated that despite the massive team/rider changes for next year, he believes Valentino Rossi will counter the competition and claim his third World Championship in the premier class.

"We're currently seeing the biggest shake-up among the various teams and manufacturers I can recall since I started in grand prix racing in 1989," Doohan wrote on his official website mickdoohan.com.au. "There will also be plenty of new faces in MotoGP next year, with Nicky Hayden leaving the AMA superbikes to become Rossi's new team-mate at Honda, reigning 250cc world champion Marco Melandri joining Yamaha, and Troy Bayliss, Colin Edwards, and Noriyuki Haga coming over from the World Superbike Championship."

"Regardless of all these changes I think Rossi will start favourite for next year's title. He's won the last two championships, with 22 race victories from 32 starts, and he will be back with the same Honda team. This continuity could help Rossi, especially with so many others moving elsewhere," declared Doohan.

However, the Honda hero recognised the potential threat Alex Barros on a factory Yamaha represents and admitted that the Brazilian is Yamaha's biggest hitter - even though he's not in the factory Fortuna sponsored team.

"It will be interesting to see whether Barros can continue his fantastic form toward the end of the 2002 season when he races the Yamaha. Barros had two wins, a second, and a third in the final four races," mused Mick. "Yamaha are no doubt hoping that Barros can maintain his challenge on Rossi into the future because they haven't won a championship since 1992 with Wayne Rainey."

The Thunder from Down Under then passed verdict on the MotoGP new boys: "Hayden will benefit from being part of an established and successful team at Honda. He's fortunate to have people around him like Jerry Burgess, who was my crew chief and who has had the same job with Rossi since then.

"Bayliss and Edwards have won World Superbike Championship titles and are good riders, and how they perform will depend on whether their equipment is competitive.

"It won't be easy for Ducati and Kawasaki in their first full MotoGP seasons, but you have to start somewhere and they will improve as they develop their machines."

In closing, Doohan warned that pre-season test times can be deceptive and - as a Honda team member - not even he expects to know who will threaten his star rider until the first race of the year at Suzuka.

"In my experience testing is not always an accurate guide to how things are shaping up. Often it's not until you get to the first race, when everyone is together on the same track in the same conditions, that we know who has prepared best and who has the best bike-tyre-rider combination," stated Doohan.