Daniel "Dani" Pedrosa

Rider: Daniel "Dani" Pedrosa
Nationality: Spanish
Team: Repsol Honda
Machine: Honda RC212V
Born: September 29, 1985 in Sabadell, Spain

Daniel Pedrosa is a racing phenomena - plain and simple. The Spanish superstar turns everything he touches into a championship trophy. He was the youngest rider to win back to back 125cc and 250cc Grand Prix championships, in 2003 and 2004 respectively. In 2005, after sustaining a shoulder injury, he had 8 wins and 14 podium finishes en route to another 250cc World Championship title. Dani joined the Repsol Honda team in 2006 to test his mettle in the MotoGP class.

His first year in the premier class was a successful one, with Pedrosa tallying 2 wins and eight podiums en route to Rookie of the Year honors. The diminutive Spaniard was in the running for the title right up until the final two rounds, when he crashed out at Estoril, but, even more shocking, took out his title-leading teammate, Nicky Hayden, in the process. Pedrosa made up for the boneheaded maneuver as best as he could by shielding Hayden at the Valencia finale.

Heading into 2007 and the 800cc era, Pedrosa was poised for a title run, but could not come close to the dominance of his 250 rival Casey Stoner. However, Pedrosa was able to best Valentino Rossi on the final round of the season to steal second-place in the championship. For 2008 Pedrosa was on the RC212V, albeit running the number-2 plate. In 2008 Dani was one of the most consistent riders in the paddock, with two wins and 11 podium finishes for the

season.

Career Highlights
2008 - 3rd MotoGP (Honda)
2007 - 2nd MotoGP (Honda)
2006 - MotoGP Rookie of the Year (Honda)
2006 - 5th MotoGP (Honda)
2005 - 1st 250cc MotoGP (Honda)
2004 - 1st 250cc MotoGP (Honda)
2003 - 125cc World Champion (Honda)
2002 - 3rd 125 MotoGP (Honda)
2001 - 8th 125 MotoGP (Honda)
1995 - 4th 125cc Spanish Championship
1994 - 8th MoviStar Activa Joven Honda Cup
1993 - 1st Spanish Pocket Bike Championship
1992 - 3rd Spanish Pocket Bikes Championship

James Toseland

Rider: James Toseland
Nationality: British
Team: Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Machine: Yamaha M1 (52)
Born: May 10, 1980 in Doncaster, UK

James Toseland was introduced to motorcycles after his divorced mother began seeing a motorcycle enthusiast, named Ken Wright when he was eight. He would eventually shift his focus from being a pianist to a professional racer.

Toseland paid his dues during a ten year span competing in the World Superbike championship before finally making the move to MotoGP at the start of the 2008 season. For '08 King James will take the plunge in MotoGP riding a Tech 3 Yamaha along side fellow 2-time SBK champ Colin Edwards.

The 2004 World superbike Champion had a dismal season in 2005 but he still finished fourth in the title chase. For 2006 the British Superstar switched to the Winston Ten Kate Honda squad, where he finished runner-up in the title.

2006 was Toseland's second for the Ten Kate team, having been passed aside by Ducati after 2005 when the Italian marque opted to go with Bayliss instead. Toseland got the last word in 2007 when he piloted the Ten Kate Honda to his second World Superbike title.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 11th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2007 - 1st World Superbike (Honda)
2006 - 2nd World Superbike (Honda)
2005 - 4th World Superbike (Ducati)
2004 - 1st World Superbike (Ducati)
2002 - 7th World Superbike (Ducati)
2001 - 13th World Superbike (Ducati)
2000 - 12th British Superbike (Honda)
1999 - 11th World Supersport (Honda)
1998 - 18th World Supersport (Honda)
1997 - 1st British Honda CB500 Champion
1997 - 3rd British Supersport (Honda)
1996 - 11th British Superteen

Randy De Puniet

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Toni Elias

Rider: Toni Elias
Nationality: Spanish
Team: San Carlo Honda Gresini
Machine: Honda RC212V (#24)
Born: March 26, 1983 in Manresa, Spain

Elias emerged as a force to be reconed with in the 250 class during the 2002 season. The Spanish rider performed well throughout the campaign, even winning at Motegi and finishing fourth in the standings behind 3 of the best riders in the paddock.

Moving into the MotoGP class, Elias was 12th for the Fortuna Yamaha in his rookie 2005 campaign. the Spaniard improved to 9th overall with the Fortuna Honda team in 2006, and was the most improbable race victor of '06 when he rode like a madman to the checkers at Estoril - his first-ever MotoGP podium.

For 2007, Elias returned alongside teammate Marco Melandri on the Hannspree Honda team, where just as soon as you'd forget about him the Spaniard come out of nowhere for a surprise podium. The 2008 sesaon sees Elias riding a Ducati for the satellite Alice squad.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 12th MotoGP (Ducati)
2007 - 12th MotoGP (Honda)
2006 - 9th MotoGP (Honda)
2005 - 12th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2004 - 4th 250 MotoGP (Honda)
2003 - 3rd 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
2002 - 4th 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
2001 - 3rd 125 MotoGP (Honda)
2000 - 20th 125 MotoGP (Honda)
1999 - 33rd 125 MotoGP (Honda)

Alex de Angelis

Rider: Alex De Angelis
Nationality: Italian
Team: San Carlo Honda Gresini
Machine: Honda RC212V (#15)
Born: February 26, 1984 in Rimini, Italy

At the age of seven Alex De Angelis received his first minimoto from his father, who also prepared a rally car and minibike track for him to practice on close to their house. With early experience on two wheels made Angelis a quick rider with skill in the art of race.

In 1999, Alex made his 125cc world championship debut at the age of sixteen. From 2002 to 2007 the rider from San Marino, a sovereign state landlocked by Italy, raced in the 125cc and 250cc MotoGP classes. He earned the 125cc vice-champion title behind Dani Pedrosa in 2003 and third place in the 250cc category for tow years in a row (2006 and 2007). After five season and 32 podiums with Aprilia, Alex moved to the Gresini Honda to in MotoGP.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 14th MotoGP (Honda)
2007 - 3rd 250cc MotoGP (Aprilia)
2006 - 3rd 125cc MotoGP (Aprilia)
2005 - 7th 125cc MotoGP (Aprilia)
2004 - 5th 250cc MotoGP (Aprilia)
2003 - 2nd 125cc MotoGP (Aprilia)
2002 - 9th 125cc MotoGP (Aprilia)
2001 - 14th 125cc MotoGP (Honda)
2000 - 125cc GP Rookie of the Year
2000 - 18th 125cc MotoGP (Honda)

Marco Melandri

Rider: Marco Melandri
Nickname: Supermarco
Nationality: Italian
Team: Hayate Racing Team
Machine: Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR (#33)
Born: August 7, 1982 in Ravenna, Italy

Marco Melandri was introduced to a minibike at he age of six and was soon racing through the national leagues toward bigger titles. In 1997 he became known for winning the Italian 125cc championship and finishing 4th in the European 125cc championship, both while he was only fourteen. The next year Benetton Honda made him a regular on the 125cc World circuit. An impressive performance at Assen TT, Netherlands made him the youngest rider at the time to win a Grand Prix. He finished 3rd for the year, and in the next season he miss the Championship title by only one point.

After nearly winning the 125 crown in 98-99, he moved up to the 250 class. He was signed by Aprilia in 2000 to replace Valentino Rossi after he moved into the 500cc championship. Melandri quickly become a fan favorite. His post race wheelies have been well documented in the MotorcycleUSA MotoGP gallery so have a look!
Despite struggling with the larger bike his first year he still managed to place 5th overall. He followed the next year with his first Grand Prix win in the class and took 3rd for the season. 2002 was the year Marco broke through and established himself as one of the premier riders in GP. He dominated the 250 class on his way to his first World Championship. His reward: a factory Yamaha MotoGP ride alongside Carlos Checa on the 4-stroke M1.

"I will never forget going onto the straight for the first time when I first rode the bike," recalled 20-year-old 250cc World Champion. "When I opened the throttle I imagined it would be about twice as powerful as the 250, but I just couldn't believe it. It was at least three times as much."

The Yamaha bikes struggled to keep pace with their Honda and Ducati competitors, leaving Melandri with just two 3rd place finishes for the year. He fared no better the next year after moving to the Tech 3 Yamaha satellite and consequentially was released from his contract in 2004. Melandri was down, but not out.

In 2005 Fausto Gresini picked up Melandri to race for the Movistar Honda team alongside Sete Gibernau. Melandri turned out to be a good fit for the Honda RC211V. He racked-up a series of podium finishes and caped the season off with back-to-back wins in Turkey and Valencia, finishing the season as a strong-runner up to the Champion, Valencio Rossi. The next year saw him riding beside Toni Elias on Gresini's Fortuna Honda Team. Melandri was right up with the championship leaders when a nasty first-turn pileup at Catalunya spoiled his championship intentions. Instead Supermarco had to settle for 4th overall. Entering 2007, the Italian star remained with the Gresini Honda team, although sponsorship changed from Fortuna to Hannspree. Also new for 2007 was the switch from Michelin to Bridgestone rubber. With the Italian earning a fifth-place in the championship Ducati decided to draft him to ride on their factory 2008 team. With the same machine that Stoner used to smoke the class in '07, Melandri has no excuse to make a bid for the title.

2008 proved disatrous. Bad blood soon developed between the vocal Italian and Marlboro Ducati. He signed a two year contract with Kawasaki, but Kawasaki unexpectedly pulled their MotoGP factory support for 2009. However, Marco Melandri will contest the 2009 season as a Hayate Racing rider on a Ninja ZX-RR with no further factory development.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 17th MotoGP (Ducati)
2007 - 5th MotoGP (Honda)
2006 - 4th MotoGP (Honda)
2005 - 2nd MotoGP (Honda)
2004 - 12th MotoGP (Yamaha) 2003 - 15th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2002 - 1st 250 World Championship (Aprilia
2001 - 3rd 250 World Championship (Aprilia)
2000 - 5th 250 World Championship (Aprilia)
1999 - 2nd 125 World Championship (Honda)
1998 - 3rd 125 World Championship (Honda)
1997 - 1st 125 Italian Championship (Honda)
1997 - 1st 125 Honda Trophy (Honda)
1997 - 4th 125 World Trophy (Honda)
1996 - 125 Italian Championship (Honda)
1996 - 13th 125 World Trophy (Honda)

Jorge Lorenzo

Rider: Jorge Lorenzo
Nationality: Spanish
Team: Fiat Yamaha
Machine: YRZ-M1 (#99)
Born: May 4, 1987 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Jorge Lorezo stormed onto the 125 scene in 2002 and has worked his way to being a title contender after only three seasons.

He moved up to the 250 Moto GP class for 2004, finishing fourth in the championship that year. He went on to becoming on of the most dominant 250 riders over the next two seasons and picked up a pair of 250 titles in '06 and '07.

After proving he had what it takes to be a Grand Prix champion there was only one thing left for him to do: Step-up to the big leagues.

For 2008 the Spanish sensation moved into the MotoGP paddock to see where he stood amongst the best in the world. His teammate on the Fiat Factory Yamaha MotoGP squad is some fellow by the name of Valentino Rossi.

"I am currently working very hard so that one day I can become World Champion, which is my objective. I don’t know if I will achieve it next year, within two years or within five but that is the objective." - Jorge Lorenzo, 2009

Yamaha was nice enough to build a wall in the garage between the two team-mates so that the serious Spaniard wasn't driven crazy by the unruly Italian. It turned out to be a very up and down rookie year for Lorenzo. He started well, with a victory in the third race and claiming a number of poles and other podiums. Yet, the normally conservative rider experienced a lot of crashes. Lorenzo set out to make 2009 a new era for his racing career, upgrading to the Crossplane crankshaft YZR-M1, switching management, and changing his longtime number 48 to 99. Despite these changes the wall will be staying between him and Rossi.

Career Highlights:
2008 - MotoGP Rookie of the Year
2008 - 4th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2007 - 1st 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
2006 - 1st 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
2005 - 4th 250 MotoGP (Honda)
2004 - 4th 125 MotoGP (Derbi)
2003 - 12th 125 MotoGP (Derbi)
2002 - 21st 125 MotoGP (Derbi)

Loris Capirossi

Rider: Loris Capirossi
Nationality: Italian
Team: Rizla Suzuki
Machine: Suzuki GSV-R (#65)
Born: April 4, 1973 in Castel San Pietro Terme, Bologna

Another of the great Italian riders, Loris has been winning races and championships since he was a teenager. He won the 125cc World Championship at age 17 - the youngest rider to ever claim a world title at that time.

In 1995 he moved into the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship with Pileri Honda. After struggling for a year he won a race in 1996 for Wayne Rainey's Yamaha team. Capirossi returned to 250cc championship to race for Aprilia in 1997. The 1998 season saw him win the 250cc series, but Capirossi was let go by Aprilia during the off-season after controversially ramming his own team-mate Tetsuya Harada during the final race in Argentina. He was taken up by Honda and ended third overall in the in 1999 championship, but once again showed his aggressive riding style when he was black flagged for dangerous riding at Mugello.

In 2000, Loris Capirossi returned to the 500cc world championship and stayed there through its evolution into the 800cc MotoGP two years later. In 2003 he jumped ship from Honda to Ducati. He took Ducati's first win at Barcelona and 4th overall, before a slightly disappointing 2004 on the GP4 bike that lacked grip in the corners. Most of the next year was spent adjusting the bike to riding on new Bridgestone tires, which would pay off in 2006 with Capirossi's best MotoGP result. The fact that Capirex did so well in '06, finishing third in the championship, is underscored by the fact that he was tied for the championship lead when he became entangled in the infamous first-turn incident at Catalunya. Mangled from the crash, which was caused by then teammate, Sete Gibernau, the lion-hearted Capirossi kept racing, albeit at less than 100%.

2007 was not as strong a season for Capirossi. Immediately following the conclusion of the 2007 USGP race at Laguna Seca, Ducati announced the signing of Marco Melandri and the extension of Casey Stoner's contract for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Capirossi's position on the Marlboro Ducati team was left uncertain. On August 16, 2007 Capirossi announced that he was parting ways with long-time employer Ducati to campaign alongside Chris Vermeulen aboard the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R.

Now in his ninth consecutive year in the premier series, the 36-year-old Capirossi is the elder statesman on the Rizla Suzuki team. Capirossi is a likable rider, and many fans will be rooting for him. An example of the good-natured demeanor of the Italian ace is the change on his leathers and helmet from the familiar "Capirex" nickname to "Capi-T-rex." He may be getting on in years, but Capirossi ain't a dinosaur yet and extinction is a long way off. With a new era in MotoGP upon him, the veteran rider and former 250 and 125 GP champion will still be looking for his first-ever title in the premier class.

Career Highlights:

2008 - 10th MotoGP (Suzuki)
2007 - 7th MotoGP (Ducati)
2006 - 3rd MotoGP (Ducati)
2005 - 6th MotoGP (Ducati)
2004 - 9th MotoGP (Ducati)
2003 - 4th MotoGP (Ducati)
2002 - 8th MotoGP (Honda)
2001 - 3rd 500 GP (Honda)
2000 - 7th 500 GP (Honda)
1999 - 3rd 250 GP (Honda)
1998 - 1st 250 GP (Aprilia)
1997 - 6th 250 GP (Aprilia)
1996 - 10th 500 GP (Yamaha)
1995 - 6th 500 GP (Honda)
1994 - 3rd 250 GP (Honda)
1993 - 2st 250 GP (Honda)
1992 - 12th 250 GP (Honda)
1991 - 1st 150 GP (Honda)
1990 - 1st 150 GP (Honda)

Colin Edwards

Rider: Colin Edwards
Nickname: Texas Tornado
Nationality: American
Team: Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Machine: Yamaha YZR-M1 (#5)
Born: February 27, 1974 in Houston, Texas

In the beginning the kid from Conroe Texas was one of the most dominant amature riders to ever ride in the US. After setting numerous records in WERA & CCS he moved to the pro level in the AMA 250 class in 1992. The Texas Tornado, aka: Colin Edwards II, raced his way through the AMA series before earning his WSBK ride with Yamaha in 1995. After several years learning the european circuits he took the ride with Castrol Honda aboard the RC45, a decision which may have been the biggest move of his career. The arrival of the long awaited RC51 V-Twin rewarded the young Texan with his first ever world championship in 2000. His title defense did not go as well yet he still finished second and may very well have held on to the title if not for a few costly mistakes.

In 2002 Colin Edwards overcame 14 victories to start the season by rival Troy Bayliss and took a one point lead into the finale at Imola. There Colin won both races after epic battles with the Aussie. That said: Colin was once again a Worldsuperbike Champion.

After being spurned by Honda for a GP ride, Colin was hired on by Aprilia to campaign the 2003 MotoGP series on the 3-cylinder Cube. Colin only spent a season with Aprilia before jumping to the Movistar Honda squad in 2004. Back on a Honda the Texas Tornado scored his first MotoGP podium at the British GP, but didn't seem comfortable on the RC211V throughout the year. In 2005, Colin joined Rossi on the Yamaha M1 and had his best season to date, landing 4th overall in the Series. In 2006 the Texas Tornado suffered a heartbreaking crash at Assen while in the lead and within sight of the finish line. Overall '06 was a bit of a setback for Edwards, with just one podium finish to his credit.

Heading into 2007, Edwards was looking to break out but it was a rough season for all the Yamahas and their Michelin tires. In 2008 Colin joined the satellite Tech 3 Yamaha team along side James Toseland. He initially had better success, but suffered towards the end of the year. For 2009 the laid-back Texan will be scrapping for points on the satellite Yamaha Tech 3 squad alongside teammate and fellow World Superbike champion James Toseland.

Career highlights:
2008 - 7th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2007 - 9th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2006 - 7th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2005 - 4th MotoGP (Yamaha)
2004 - 5th MotoGP (Honda)
2003 - 13th MotoGP (Aprilia)
2002 - 1st World Superbike (Honda)
2002 - Suzuka 8 Hour Champion (Honda)
2001 - 2nd World Superbike (Honda)
2001 - Suzuka 8 Hour Champion (Honda)
2000 - 1st World Superbike (Honda)
1999 - 2nd World Superbike (Honda)
1998 - 5th World Superbike (Honda)
1997 - 12th World Superbike (Yamaha)
1996 - 5th World Superbike (Yamaha)
1996 - Suzuka 8 Hour Champion (Yamaha)
1995 - 11th World Superbike (Yamaha)
1994 - 5th AMA Superbike (Yamaha)
1993 - 6th AMA Superbike (Yamaha)
1992 - 1sr AMA 250 GP (Yamaha)

Chris Vermuelen

Rider: Chris Vermeulen
Nickname: The V, Chris V
Nationality: Australian
Team: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
Machine: Suzuki GSV-R (#7)
Born: June 19, 1982 in Brisbane, Australia

The charismatic Australian started his path to MotoGP by claiming the World Supersport Championship in 2003 and moving up to the Superbike class the following season. After two years in SBK, Vermeulen made the jump to MotoGP at the start of the 2006 season, signing with Rizla Suzuki MotoGP. MotoGP is where the Aussie always wanted to be, allowing him to prove his worth on the biggest stage of all.

Vermeulen spent 2006 transitioning from a successful career in WSB. There were times in 2006 when Chris the V upstaged his American paddock-mate, John Hopkins, the most noticeable moment being Laguna Seca, where the Aussie snagged the pole position and almost the podium before falling short in the final laps. Vermeulen claimed the pole position at Turkey as well, and also had a great run at Phillip Island, his home track, where he charged up through the ranks to finish second.

2007 saw the introduction of the smaller 800cc GP bikes with improved traction control, which required a different riding style and a focus on maintaining corner speed. Chris V adapted well and won a maiden victory at a wet Le Mans circuit in France. It was also Suzuki’s first victory in the four stroke category. He finished the 2007 season in 6th place with three other podium finishes for the year.

2008 found Chris V struggling to achieve the power he needed from his Suzuki GSV-R. Despite this he managed two third place finishes at Sachsenring and Laguna Seca and finished 8th overall for the season. He also penned a monthly column called Vermeulen's Inside Line for a cool online magazine by the name of MotorcycleUSA.com.

Provided the Suzuki project continues to develop in the right direction, Vermeulen has proven he has the talent to pilot the baby blue ride to the top of the steps. Considering their impressive performances in offseason testing, we could be seeing some blue up front in 2009.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 8th MotoGP (Suzuki)
2007 - 6th MotoGP (Suzuki)
2006 - 11th MotoGP (Suzuki)
2005 - 2nd World Superbike (Honda)
2004 - 4th World Superbike (Honda)
2003 - 1st World Superpsort (Honda)
2002 - 7th World Supersport (Honda)

Nicky Hayden

Rider: Nicky Hayden
Nickname: Nick the Quick, or the Kentucky Kid
Nationality: American
Team: Ducati Marlboro
Machine: Desmosedici GP9 (#69)
Born: July 30, 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky

Don't think for a minute that this good natured, always smiling kid from Kentucky doesn't have the heart of a winner. Both of Nicky's parents were involved in dirt track racing before he was born. Earl, Nicky's father, built dirt tracks for his five children to learn how to race bike while living in the countryside of Kentucky. With Nicky's two brothers currently racing in the AMA Superbike Championship and his own success in AMA and World Superbike, his father's dream has been made a reality.

Hayden began his sporting career with dirt track racing, beginning at four years old at the Paducah International Raceway. From that moment on, he competed regularly in the category and spent nearly every weekend travelling to tracks all over the American Midwest with his family.
Although over time his passion transferred itself more towards road racing, Nicky and his brothers have always remained interested in dirt track, a world in which they all obtained great results. A highlight was the historic Springfield TT in 2002, where having all qualified on the front row, all three brothers stepped up to the podium! Nicky, Tommy and Roger Lee finished the race in that order, something that had never happened before in a professional AMA Dirt Track race. At that time Nicky was already one of the most talented riders in the AMA Superbike championship and was in contention for the title, a title that he won just a few months later.

After three seasons in MotoGP, Nicky picked up his first career win at the USGP at Laguna Seca. In front of his hometown fans Nicky dominated, led every lap and won the hearts of many a GP fan across the globe. For 2006 the Kentucky Kid did one better, he claimed the checkers at Laguna again, but also netted the MotoGP title. To earn the championship, Hayden exhibited consistency and determination, overcoming a devastating DNF at Estoril, courtesy of his Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa.

In 2007 the GP category moved from 990cc to 800cc machines and Hayden was not immediately comfortable with the new 800cc V-4 RC212V at his command. He also had a two-year contract with the factory Honda team, but Nick the Quick was under the gun to deliver another title and couldn't deliver.Despite great efforts to develop the RC212V, he was never able to truly fight to defend his title. The work completed during the year allowed him to reach the podium in Germany, Holland and the Czech Republic but he was only able to finish the season in eighth position.

2008 was another year of mixed fortunes for Hayden, especially at the start of the season when, despite several top five finishes, he failed to reach the podium. An injury to his foot, caused while he participated in a Supermoto race at the X-Games in Los Angeles, complicated things and forced him to miss the Czech Republic and San Marino GP races after the summer break. However, always ready to fight harder when the going gets tough, the American rider was back on form at the second of his home rounds, at Indianapolis, where in difficult meteorological conditions and in less than perfect health, he finished second behind Valentino Rossi. Another podium at Phillip Island and a series of strong results towards the end of the season allowed him to climb the leaders board to finish the year in sixth position.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 6th MotoGP (Honda)
2007 - 8th MotoGP (Honda)
2006 - 1st MotoGP (Honda)
2005 - 3rd MotoGP (Honda)
2004 - 8th MotoGP (Honda)
2003 - 5th MotoGP (Honda)
2003 - MotoGP Rookie of the Year
2002 - 1st AMA Superbike (Honda)
2002 - 1st Daytona 200 (Honda)
2001 - 3rd AMA Superbike (Honda)
2000 - 2nd AMA Superbike (Honda)
2000 - 4th AMA 600 Supersport (Honda)
1999 - 1st AMA 600 Supersport (Honda)
1999 - 2nd AMA Formula Xtreme (Honda)
1999 - AMA Grand National Dirt Track Rookie of the Year
1999 - AMA/Speedvision Pro Athlete of the Year
1998 - 4th AMA 600 SuperSport (Honda)
1998 - 4th AMA 750 SuperSport (Honda)

Casey Stoner

Rider: Casey Stoner
Nationality: Australian
Team: Ducati Marlboro
Machine: Ducati Desmosedici GP8 (#27)
Born: October 16, 1985 in Sourthport, Australia

Between the ages of 6 and 14 Casey Stoner won 41 Australian dirt and long track titles and over 70 State titles. After his 14th birthday his family moved to England to take advantage of the younger legal road racing age, a decision that soon catapult the rider into the professional limelight.

In 2006 the 20-years-old Stoner joined the MotoGP Championship after racking up wins in the 250 and 125 brackets. His rookie season for LCR Honda included a second-place podium finish and a pole-position victory. That was the good news. The bad news came when Stoner developed a penchant for crashing his machinery. Stoner's DNFs didn't stop him from finishing a very respectable eighth in the title chase, however.

In 2007 Casey Stoner joined the Ducati Marlboro Team. Aside from stepping up to full factory supported Desmosedici GP7, he also benefited from new tires (Bridgestone instead of Michelin) and the advice of his veteran teammate Loris Capirossi. On March 10, 2007, at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, Stoner won the first grand prix of the season, the first ever 800cc grand prix, and had his first win in the MotoGP class. After that the young Australian took nine other wins, four further podium finishes and five pole positions. On September 23rd, in Japan, Stoner secured Ducati’s first MotoGP World Championship becoming the first rider in over 30 years to win the MotoGP title on a European made bike and the second youngest premier-class World Champion, after American legend Freddie

Spencer who won his title in 1983, and at the time was 84 days younger than the 21 year old Stoner. Stoner even made Valentino Rossi look inept. An unthinkable situation heading into the '07 season.

The following year Stoner set out to defend his title and began his quest with a fantastic victory in the first GP to be held at night, in Qatar, but this was followed by a series of highs and lows that saw him lose ground in the classification. Nevertheless Stoner continued to work tirelessly with his team until a breakthrough came during the tests following the Catalunya GP when the Ducati technicians identified a method to maximise the potential of the GP8. Three consecutive victories followed in the UK, The Netherlands and Germany but then, after the hard-fought podium at Laguna Seca, two falls at Brno and Misano, and a physical problem caused by the reopening of an old fracture to his left wrist, the defense of the title seemed impossible. Improvement towards the end of the season with two podiums and another two convincing wins, in Australia and at the final round in Valencia, meant that Stoner closed the season as the vice-champion of 2008 with the highest ever points score.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 2nd MotoGP (Ducati)
2007 - 1st MotoGP (Ducati)
2006 - 8th MotoGP (Honda)
2005 - 2nd 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
2004 - 5th 125 MotoGP (KTM)
2003 - 8th 125 MotoGP (Aprilia)
2002 - 12th 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
2001 - 2nd 125 UK Series(Honda)
2001 - 2nd 125 Spanish Series(Honda)
2000 - 1st Aprilia Challenge UK (Aprilia)

Valentino Rossi

Rider: Valentino Rossi
Nickname: The Doctor
Nationality: Italian
Team: Fiat Yamaha
Machine: YZR-M1 (#46)
Born: February 16, 1979 in Urbino, Italy

Valentino Rossi is of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Fans around the globe cheer for the charismatic Italian and he responds with flamboyant post-race celebrations and riding style that always attracts attention. The Doctor became a Champion of all three GP series, 125, 250, as well as the final year of classic 500cc racing. Rossi joined Mike Hailwood and Phil Read as the only men to have accomplished this task.

Valentino has been going by the motto of "one year to learn, one year to win" throughout his GP career. Rossi began racing GP in the 125 class in 1996. The following year he became the youngest ever GP champion at age 16, winning 11 rounds along the way. He was moved up to the 250 class in 1998 where he finished 2nd with 5 wins. In 1999 he once again become a champion, (the youngest 250 champ to date), dominating the series with 9 victories. Next up: 500GP aboard the venerable Honda NSR. In 2000 young Rossi finished behind Kenny Roberts Jr. and returned in 2001 with a mission: To become a 500 GP champion. He did just that. After a year long battle with rival Max Biaggi, he wrapped up the championship with 11 victories and established himself as one of the greatest GP racers of all time.

"In 2009 it will be even more difficult because my adversaries, who suffered in 2008, are now out for payback and will be looking to beat me. I think it’s going to be even harder than 2008!" - Rossi

The most dominating rider since in the modern era, the unthinkable happened when Rossi lost his title to Nicky Hayden in 2006. Rossi's failure came when he crashed during the season finale at Valencia, losing his points lead to Hayden. Sporting the Excalibur motif on his 2007 preseason factory Yamaha, the unspoken message from Rossi was loud and clear: The once and future king is dead set on recovering his crown. The Doctor fell short in 2007, however, losing his supremacy to Ducati's Casey Stoner and finishing the season third in the championship.

In 2008 Rossi took Fiat Yamaha and switched to Bridgestone rubber, the same slicks as Stoner. The result was yet another dominating season from The Doctor and another MotoGP crown.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 1st MotoGP (Yamaha)
2007 - 3rd MotoGP (Yamaha)
2006 - 2nd MotoGP (Yamaha)
2005 - 1st MotoGP (Yamaha)
2004 - 1st MotoGP (Yamaha)
2003 - 1st MotoGP (Honda)
2002 - 1st MotoGP (Honda)
2001 - 1st 500 MotoGP (Honda)
2000 - 2nd 500 MotoGP (Honda)
1999 - 1st 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
1998 - 2nd 250 MotoGP (Aprilia)
1997 - 1st 125 MotoGP (Aprilia)
1996 - 9th 125 MotoGP (Aprilia)
1995 - 3rd European 250 Series (Sandroni)
1995 - 1st Italian 125 Sports Production (Sandroni)
1994 - 1st Italian 125 Sports Production (Sandroni)

Virtual Private Server

A virtual private server (VPS, also referred to as Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS) is a method of partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers such that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system, and each server can be independently rebooted.

The practice of partitioning a single server so that it appears as multiple servers has long been common practice in mainframe computers, but has seen a resurgence lately with the development of virtualization software and technologies for other architectures.

Overview

The physical server boots normally. It then runs a program that boots each virtual server within a virtualization environment (similar to an emulator). The virtual servers have no direct access to hardware and are usually booted from a disk image.

There are two kinds of virtualizations: software based and hardware based. In a software based virtualization environment, the virtual machines share the same kernel and actually require the main node's resources. This kind of virtualization normally has many benefits in a web hosting environment because of quota incrementing and decrementing in real time with no need to restart the node. The main examples are Xen, Virtuozzo, Vserver, and OpenVZ (which is the open source and development version of Parallels Virtuozzo Containers).

In a hardware based virtualization, the virtualization mechanism partitions the real hardware resources. In typical implementations, no burst and/or realtime quota modification is possible; the limits are hard and can only be modified by restarting a virtual machine instance^{[citation needed]}. This kind of environment is potentially more secure in the sense that it is less subject to "Quality of Service crosstalk" between VM instances^{[citation needed]}; on the other hand, its security is typically dependent on the correctness of a larger and more complicated Trusted Computing Based ^{[citation needed]}. It is more commonly used in enterprise/commercial deployments^{[citation needed]}. Examples include Microsoft Virtual Server, VMware ESX Server, and Xen.

Uses

Virtual private servers bridge the gap between shared web hosting services and dedicated hosting services, giving independence from other customers of the VPS service in software terms but at less cost than a physical dedicated server. As a VPS runs its own copy of its operating system, customers have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, and can install almost any software that runs on the OS. Certain software does not run well in a virtualized environment, including firewalls, anti-virus clients, and indeed virtualizers themselves; some VPS providers place further restrictions, but they are generally lax compared to those in shared hosting environments. Due to the number of virtualization clients typically running on a single machine, a VPS generally has limited processor time, RAM, and disk space.

Due to their isolated nature, VPSes have become common sandboxes for possibly-insecure public services or update testing. For example, a single physical server might have two virtual private servers running: one hosting the production-level (live) website, and a second which houses a copy of it. When updates to crucial parts of software need to be made, they can be tested in the second VPS, allowing for detailed testing to be conducted without requiring several physical servers.

Virtual private servers are also sometimes employed as honeypots, allowing a machine to deliberately run software with known security flaws without endangering the rest of the server. Multiple honeypots can be quickly set up via VPSes in this fashion.^{[citation needed]}

Virtual private server hosting

A growing number of companies offer virtual private server hosting, or virtual dedicated server hosting as an extension for Web hosting services. Some web hosting companies call a Virtual Private Server a Virtual Dedicated Server/Dynamic Dedicated Server or the other way around.

Managed Hosting

Tools are provided to monitor and control the machine.

Unmanaged Hosting

Typically only minimal services are provided, such as ssh console and reboot. Unmanaged VPS hosting is generally less expensive than managed VPS hosting.

Unmetered Hosting

Similar to unmanaged hosting but a fixed bitrate is offered so that it is not possible to exceed a monthly budget.