10 Mar Qatar (Losail)
25 Mar Spain (Jerez)
22 Apr Turkey (Istanbul)
06 May China (Shanghai)
20 May France (Le Mans)
03 Jun Italy (Mugello)
10 Jun Spain (Catalunya)
24 Jun Great Britain (Donington Park)
30 June Holland (Assen)
15 Jul Germany (Sachsenring)
22 Jul United States (Laguna Seca)
19 Aug Czech Republic (Brno)
02 Sep San Marino (Misano)
16 Sep Portugal (Estoril)
23 Sep Japan (Motegi)
14 Oct Australia (Phillip Island)
21 Oct Malaysia (Sepang)
04 Nov Spain (Valencia).

Read the original story at the beeb. To me, the worst thing about the '07 schedule is that there's just one race in April, with the gap between the last race in March and the one in April nearly one month! But there are four races in June - I'm not complaining about that as a fan, but it's going to be very tough for the riders and teams.

One thing of note is the fact that MotoGP '07 has more races than Formula-1 '07. A clear reflection of the growing popularity of MotoGP!

BTW, I find it strange to see Nicky Hayden's, rather than Rossi's, pic in an article on MotoGP because Rossi's image has been so ubiquitously used in MotoGP related stories. It's also weird to hear Rossi referred to as "the former five-times MotoGP champion"

Nicky Hayden from Owensboro, Kentucky, USA became the last champion of the 990cc MotoGP era at Valencia, Spain today. Hayden was trailing Valentino Rossi by 8 points coming to this race. And things were not looking for Hayden - Rossi was on pole while Hayden could only manage 5th in qualifying.

But when the lights went out for the Race, Rossi made a very poor start while Hayden got the jump on him. By the end of the first lap Rossi was down in 8th place or thereabouts while Hayden moved up to 3rd. A lap later Hayden went up to 2nd, just ahead of his teammate Dani Pedrosa. By this time Rossi was in 7th place just behind Casey Stoner, and just didn't seem to be in his usual form - struggling to get past the riders in front.

Then, on lap 5 Rossi, just slid out of the track after his front tire slid out from under him. He managed to remount his bike, but down in 20th place and out of the points. After this point in the race, it was basically game over for Rossi. Nicky Hayden finished the race in 3rd spot, collecting 16 points while Rossi could only manage a 13th place and 3 points. In the end Hayden won the championship by just 5 points.

If Rossi had won the previous race, today's result would mean that Hayden and Rossi would be level on points but Rossi will take the title due to his higher win rate - the exact scenario I wished for in my previous blog in this category. But that wasn't to be and we have a new MotoGP World Champion, Nicky Hayden.

Congratulations to Hayden (from a Rossi fan). He worked hard this year for the championship and in the end he had a little bit more luck, and points, than his competitors; so full credits to him.

Today Rossi showed us that he's human. I never expected him to crack under pressure like that.

From next year the MotoGP bikes will become 800cc machines instead of the current 990cc formula.

Update: Rossi gracious in defeat, and some insight into why his performance at Valencia was below par. Read his post-race interview here.

Starting Sunday September 10, there are three MotoGP races coming up in the next three weeks. This MotoGP season has been one of the best in terms of the championship fight, and most of the races this year have been very, very close. The season has been extremely frustrating tough, if you (like me) are a fan of Valentino Rossi. He was knocked off of his bike at the first turn in the season opening race at Jerez, retired while in 5th place (and looking good to take third) due to front tire failure in Shanghai, engine failure while leading the race by four secods in Le Mans, tire and engine failure while in 4th place at Laguna Seca. And that's not all. He crashed during practice at Assen, sustaining fractures in his right wrist and left ankle.

Despite all those problems "The Doctor" is 38 points from current series leader Nicky Hayden, and still has a chance at retaining the title he's had for the past five years. Of course, there are other riders, such as Dani Pedrosa, Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi capable of taking the title should anyone of the series leaders falter.

My personal wish is that Rossi will take the title at the last race of the season in Valencia, on equal points with Hayden, but due to his higher win ratio (Rossi has won four races this season, versus Hayden's two wins).

kropotkin has a good preview of the three up-coming races at Sepang, Philip Island and Motegi.