I want to be alone: reigning world champion Valentino Rossi gets the message across to the media on the starting grid

Matt, I love the BBC coverage of MotoGP and look forward to it every race. What are the unwritten rules with regard to speaking to the riders before the race?

David W. Pancerz, USA

David, thanks for the compliment! I usually decide which riders I plan to speak to on Saturday after qualifying, and then OK it with them by Sunday morning at the latest, although always on the understanding that they don't have to if they don't feel like it at the time.

I try to catch their eye off camera and a couple of times this year Andrea Dovizioso, for example, has said no despite previously agreeing. As a rule Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa don't speak to anybody on the grid and only this year Jorge Lorenzo has started talking to the local broadcaster, which I think is a good compromise.

I have been a massive Valentino fan since his 125cc days and after idolising him for over a decade, it hurt me to see him writhing around in agony after the accident at Mugello. Part of me wants him to retire now as he has put himself up there with the greats and has nothing else to prove. Do you think that he will be the same Valentino?

Lillo, UK

Many people forget that Valentino raced the day after breaking a bone in his hand and injuring his ankle at Assen in 2006. So, he has been in a similar situation before. The very fact he is willing to return this weekend so soon after breaking his leg when, as you say, he has nothing left to prove shows that the bravery and commitment definitely left the hospital bed with him and are here with him in Germany!

What is the latest with Kawasaki and MotoGP? Are there any plans for a return? With the grid looking so bare where are the new teams/bikes/sponsors/riders coming from? MotoGP must look like a closed shop looking from the outside in.

Steve, UK

Kawasaki seem to be focusing their efforts on World Superbike at the moment and I'm told that the engineer that was behind their MotoGP effort is the Project Manager on the new ZX-10R, so it seems very unlikely that a return is imminent. Having said that, MotoGP rule changes due to come into force in 2012 will restrict engines and make them cheaper, which will allow private teams to lease them and run them in their own prototype chasses, much like Moto2. Unlike Moto2, however, there won't be a single engine supplier so it will be anything but a closed shop and maybe even Kawasaki could be tempted into a return as a factory effort or just as an engine supplier.

Away from all the talk of Rossi's injury and the Pedrosa-Lorenzo title battle, who have you been most impressed by out of the rookies? And can you see any of them being a MotoGP World Champion a few years down the line?

Chris, Preston

Regular readers of my website column over the past couple of years will know I'm a big fan of Aleix Espargaró and I'm really pleased to see him picking up some results, although the standout rookie without a doubt is Ben Spies. He already has a podium to his name and with some upgrades from Yamaha next week at Laguna, I think he could be fighting for the win. In theory he will be Lorenzo's team-mate on the factory bike next year, so he has to be considered as a title contender from 2011 onwards.

Did you expect Moto2 to be so competitive and is a single engine championship what the GP class needs?

Nick, UK

I'm glad you're enjoying Moto2, Nick - some of the racing has been unbelievable this year. To be honest I think we all hoped it would be this close but you never know until they get out there. A single engine championship would defeat the object of the premier class but hopefully the rule changes I've outlined above will have a similar effect on MotoGP.

What is the best and worst overtaking move you have seen?

Robert Stirrup, England

That's a tough one! Rossi's passes on Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca in 2008 and on Lorenzo at Barcelona in 2009 are probably the best for sheer outlandishness, and the effect they had on the championship both seasons. However, my favourite has to be Toni Elias passing both Rossi and Kenny Roberts Jr sideways into turn one of the final lap at Estoril in 2006.

Toni is one of the nicest guys you could meet and it proved to be his only win in MotoGP. It also effectively helped Nicky Hayden, who got taken out by his team-mate Pedrosa that day, win the title by five points from Rossi. That Pedrosa incident is a good contender for the worst attempt at a pass but I'll go for one that happened here at Sachsenring in 2002.

Olivier Jacque was leading the race on the 500cc Yamaha at the only circuit where the remaining two-strokes on the grid had a realistic chance of beating the new MotoGP four-strokes. It would have been an amazing story and OJ's only premier-class win but Alex Barros, riding a 500cc Honda, wiped him out in turn one with three laps to go. I still can't believe that happened!

I've been watching the Ducatis all season and we can all see they're struggling to get heat into the tyres but on a close-up of Casey on Friday at Mugello, he appeared to have no confidence in the brakes, obviously a Stoner strong point. Are they massively different to last year's bike?

Tad, England

Well spotted! Casey's problem has indeed been with front-end stability but this is not so much caused by the brakes as the new front suspension system introduced this year by Ducati. The Desmosedici GP10 has been built with new 48mm diameter Ohlins front forks, which are 6mm bigger than the ones they had last year on the GP9, and they are quite different on the inside too.

Basically, the new forks are said to be less aggressive, which affects the overall flex of the chassis and supposedly makes it easier to ride, which was one of their main targets for the new bike. However, Casey says there isn't enough feel in the last 50mm of suspension travel and that is why he got caught out a couple of times early in the season and lost confidence.

At Mugello, he switched back to the old forks and they seem to have spent the last few races adapting the bike accordingly.

I have always wondered if there is any aerodynamic benefit to Rossi wearing his leathers over his boots as opposed to inside them or is it purely to show off his sun/moon designs as none of the other riders do it despite copying pretty much everything else he does?

Gary, England

Gary, actually Jorge Lorenzo does it too, as does Marco Simoncelli and Max Biaggi in World Superbikes. More than aerodynamics or mimicry, I think it's purely the fact they all wear Dainese leathers and boots and that is the way they're made!

Personally, I find the 21 litre fuel limit and the engine maintenance restrictions pointless. I concede that it adds a tactical aspect and maybe some (negligible) cost savings, but this is MotoGP and it should be a rider on the most pure racing machine available, not one strangled by regulations. What are your thoughts?

Steve O'Rourke, England

I know what you are saying and it is a romantic idea but I am afraid without any regulations we would end up with just one bike dominating and that would not be fun for anybody. If you look at F1, which is the pinnacle of motorsport technology, they have had a lot of criticism for placing heavy restrictions on the cars but, at the end of the day, the racing is currently better than it has been for a long time and the sport is an improved spectacle.

I think the key is to find the right compromise between allowing the factories to develop technology, which as you say is one of the main attractions of MotoGP, and limiting it to ensure the spectacle doesn't suffer as a result.

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