2007 - your nation's prospects?

[patnicholls]

Let's have a shamelessly patriotic thread...

How do you reckon the guys from your country are going to do on the world stage this year?

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For me, Britain has a fairly large crop of talent on the grid this season so far in comparison with recent years. I won't included any 'honourary Brits' as they're known, which includes Yukio, Troy B, Chris V, and anyone else who's ever raced in a British Championship as that would mean about half the grid :

MotoGP

Jeremy McWilliams (Ilmor)
-Surely going to be a year of trying hard but little reward for Jezza on the Ilmor, which looked quite neat until the big boys brought out all their 800c bikes and it now looks like back-of-the-grid fodder. That said, he's well versed in racing odd bikes to their limits (TSR Honda 250, Aprilia 500-twin, Proton V3, Buell AMA Supersport bike) so you know he'll give his best. It is likely to meet with little success though and points will be a struggle.

250

Eugene Laverty (LCR Honda)
-Surely a golden chance to impress for the young Irish rider who was right at the top of the British Supersport championship in '06 until and then after he got injured. He's fast and this is a BIG chance for him to get noticed with a team who know what they're doing. Would certainly hope he'd be in the top eight or ten at least.

Dan Linfoot (Winona Aprilia)
Kev Coghlan (Winona Aprilia)
-Dan Linfoot ran a Winona Honda last year to gain experience both of the circuits and riding a 250 altogether. With a change to the preferred Aprilia and greater experience for rider and team, hopefully things can improve from last year and get the guys nearer the pace. Kev Coghlan comes from a competitive season in the Spanish CEV 125 series which is the place to be for a young rider. It may be a struggle to get regular top 10s but I'd really love this team to do well and get in the points as often as possible, as they're a British-orientated team which has to be good news for guys coming up from the UK.

125

Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda)
-Second year in the class for last season's Rookie of the year and the prospects are good. He got more and more on the pace last season and was a regular good points runner by the end. With some good winter testing, fitness work (last season he did look a bit like he'd just emerged from the womb ) and now two competitive new team-mates (Esteve Rabat and Stefan Bradl) in the top Honda team in 125s, there's pressure to perform but he looks like he should be up to the task. I'd certainly hope he'd score some top 5s throughout the year.

Danny Webb (Molenaar Honda)
-Another graduate from the Spanish CEV 125 championship, formerly part of the Repsol Academy set-up. Again a young talent but the Molenaar squad have been largely at the back of the pack in recent years so I'm expecting it to be slim pickings for Danny I'm afraid. Would be impressed to see him get into the points.

WSB

James Toseland (Ten Kate Honda)
-JT had probably his best season last year despite finishing second, as the field was that much stronger than 2004. He certainly answered most of the critics who'd said he was a one-hit wonder and was comfortably the top Honda rider. I'm hoping he'll continue winning races in 2007 and take the fight to Troy, Max and the rest.

Dean Ellison (Pedercini Ducati)
-A very odd choice considering a truly dire 2006 in BSB with a team who didn't seem to have the resources to compete and virtually no results. He's had his moments over the years in BSB but never any podiums, and the Pedercini team are loveable but unlikely to be upsetting the factory big boys. Expect a struggle but any results will be very welcome.

A quick mention should also go to two exiles from the scene, James Ellison (AMA Superbike - Corona Honda) and Chaz Davies (AMA Supersport and FExtreme - Celtic Yamaha). James is likely to find things hard going I suspect but Chaz should impress a fair few people with a well clued-up team.

plus Neil Hodgson remains unemployed for now, and Craig Jones is rumoured to be racing WSS with Ekerold Honda who were the top team in British Supersport for the past two years.

So yeah, we've got a few Brits out there! Then there's the BSB lot!

[fatman]

Sadly my proud country has nothing to offer the world of motorcycle road racing. Damn frozen tundra !

[Corny]

Lucky I'm not from Italy, I think it would have taken at least 2 hours to place all Italian riders in 1 post:d

[patnicholls]

Britain is lucky cos Dorna now backs the British Superbikes and the support classes (Supersport, Superstock, 125s, R6 Cup) so are on the lookout for the talent there to bring to the international stage, hence why a lot of the 125 boys go to Spain.

And as for Canada - well you had Chris Peris in World Supersport last year, he got the odd point here and there

[NinjaMaster]

Well there's a few Aussie riders to sift through so I'll see what I can do.

MotoGP
Casey Stoner - showed a lot of pace and promise during his rookie season but developed a nasty habit of crashing...a lot! I'm expecting him to be just as quick on the Duc this year but not crash - as much.

Chris Vermeulen - like Stoner, showed that he will be very fast with decent equipment under him. Has a very cool head and if Suzuki's bike delivers on its preseason promise, expect Chris to be at the pointy end more often than not.

Andrew Pitt - had his best year of racing since winning the WSS title and then got dumped by his team. Sadly will be cannon fodder on what I expect to be an uncompetitive Ilmor and I also think his talent is a bit short of MotoGP level.

250
Ant West - depends a lot on his equipment. Reasonable equipment and he will get consistent top 10s and a number of top 5s. Equivalent equipment to the last few years and he will be pushing for top 10's and grumbling. A lot.

WSB
Troy Bayliss - the reigning champ will be very fast again. I fully expect him to retain his title but in a much tougher contest on a machine that has reached the end of it's development versus the continual improvement from Japan inc.

Troy Corser - had a very disappointing title defence in 06 and in 07 I expect TC to return to title contender status. If it goes bad however, retirement will loom large.

Karl Muggeridge - after 2 dismal years at Ten Kate, Muggas got booted and landed up at Bertocchi. Hopefully the smaller team will suit him but I think he will be mainly mid-pack.

Josh Brookes - will be a star. Bertocchi have good support and Brookes has lots of pace and a years experience under his belt. Will be consistent top ten with possible podiums.

Steve Martin - highly underrated, he's spent 2 trying seasons at the dud Foggy team, now has competitive machinery at his disposal. He will be a consistent top 10 runner with some top 5 finishes as well.

WSS
Broc Parkes - really came of age last year, Broc has become a title contender. Still only young, Broc pushes the limits and will be right up there if Yamaha can provide him a bike competitive with the Ten Kate Hondas.

Kev Curtain - the grand old man of WSS, Curtain had his best shot at the title in 06. He will be very fast again in 07 but it will be interesting to see whether age starts to catch up with him with some good talent starting to come through.

A quick mention of Cam Donald as well. Had an outstanding year in the Irish road racing champs and will be a definate contender for the title as well a possible winner for the Isle of Man TT. Also of note is Mat Mladin who will be trying to win back the AMA title that has been his for so long.

On the non-road side of things, Jason Crump will be looking to defend his World Speedway Championship against some very tough competition and Chad Reed will be trying to steal glory from the home-towners in the AMA super/motocross series.

So overall, it looks like a promising year (again) for us Aussies.

[tha_jackal]

What Ninja said

Plus plenty of prospects coming up through the local series

And dont forget Aitcho (Mark Aitchison) riding in the world superstock championship..

[NinjaMaster]

What Ninja said

Plus plenty of prospects coming up through the local series

And dont forget Aitcho (Mark Aitchison) riding in the world superstock championship..

Or Brendan Roberts on the Xerox Ducati in the same series. Was mighty quick last year and is with a squad that can really take him places.

[Mach24]

Or Brendan Roberts on the Xerox Ducati in the same series. Was mighty quick last year and is with a squad that can really take him places.

Anyone know what Billy McConnell is doing in 007'? He and Brendan were of equal quality.

[NinjaMaster]

Anyone know what Billy McConnell is doing in 007'? He and Brendan were of equal quality.

I believe Billy is to remain with Virgin Yamaha but drop to the British Supersports.

[MrJan]

Largely rubbish : Reckon Toseland will could battle for the title again and Bradley Smith will have a better season than last year and continue to impress for such a young lad (apart from improving results during the season he was even getting the hang of being interviewed by Suzi Perry towards the end of last season which has got to be a trial for any teenage boy )

Don't know a lot about any of the others but I can't see James Ellison doing very well (never really seemed worth the ride to me, considering the riders that end up left out) Also don't think the Ilmor will be particularly quick so imagine McWilliams taking up his usual spot near the back of the grid (more to do with bike than rider once again)