Your top 10 list at halfway of the season

[Bleu]

8 races gone, 8 races still to go in MotoGP. At that point it's good to make top 10 lists:

Including all 3 classes, my top 10 of the season so far:

1. Rossi
Has done amazing job with Yamaha, won half of the races and leading the championship.
2. Pedrosa
Rookie in 250 and amazing lead in standings. Remember also that he lost lots of testing chances because of the injury.
3. Biaggi
Has bounced back to title chase in premier class. One point from Rossi, everything is still possible.
4. Dovizioso
Very consistent, leading 125.
5. de Puniet
Unlucky at Mugello and Rio, lost many points there. No retirements so far.
6. Gibernau
Last two races, two falls, but before that top Honda rider
7. Locatelli
Easily best 125 veteran. Looks like Aprilia suits him very well, unlike KTM.
8. Porto
Very fast, but too much mistakes. Two wins already, chance for even more in the second half.
9. Tamada
Few great races, Bridgestone's best though Roberts and Nakano have gone well also.
10. Barbera
Really fast, some bad starts, but is good to catch. Sometimes dirty.

Rest of Top 5 for each class
MotoGP
5. Xaus

250
4. Elias
5. West

125
4. Stoner
5. Lorenzo

[f1manoz]

MotoGP:

1. Valentino Rossi - How good is this bloke? It's just plain scary how good he is.

2. Sete Gibernau - Fallen twice but he's been incredibly quick all season and is still a favourite for the title

3. Max Biaggi - The final rider of the 'big three'. His win at Sachsenring was overdue but well deserved. Best shot for the title in a long time.

4. Colin Edwards - Yet to crack the podium, but his incredible consistency has him easily in the top five.

5. Makoto Tamada - Mr. Smiles-a-lot. Great race in Brazil and has been unlucky.

6. Shinya Nakano - Has put that Kawasaki in places it simply shouldn't be. Brilliant.

7. Alex Barros - Has had some good rides but once again inconsistency is costing him wins.

8. Marco Melandri - Has come of age on the Yamaha with some superb rides in the past four races.

9. Loris Capirossi - Has really struggled with the Ducati, but is excellingin adverse conditions.

10. Ruben Xaus - On a year-old bike, half the time ahead of Bayliss and well ahead of Hodgson.

250cc:

1. Daniel Pedrosa - 2004 250cc World Champion. This kid will be better than Rossi (*drool* at the future fights). You heard it here first.

2. Randy de Puniet - Has mixed blinding speed with consistency - finally!

3. Alex de Angelis - Very impressive rookie season. Finally got a podium in Germany.

4. Sebastian Porto - Incredibly quick this year after a year in the wilderness.

5. Toni Elias - Rode some excellent races prior to Germany. Certainly put Rolfo in the shade.

6. Anthony West - Best privateer by far again. This guy should be on a works bike.

7. Hiroshi Aoyama - First season in the premier category has seen him improve with each race.

8. Roberto Rolfo - Another win but not much else. Has lost that consistency...

9. Fonsi Nieto - Unimpressive despite his 5th place in the chase for Pedrosa.

10. Manuel Poggiali - Absolute disaster. Looked to turn the corner in Brazil but....

125cc:

1. Roberto Locatelli - Completely biased decision. The old dog's teaching those kids lessons.

2. Andrea Dovizioso - Impressive season on the lone factory Honda.

3. Hector Barbera - Very impressive. Will be in the fight all year for the title.

4. Casey Stoner - Surely a KTM win isn't far away now for Casey. Left Kallio for dead.

5. Mirko Giansanti - Rediscovering old form. Consistent but lacking that final bit for a podium.

6. Pablo Nieto - Once again he's very consistent without taking a victory.

7. Jorge Lorenzo - Shown flashes of incredible speed but still liable to throw the bike down the road.

8. Marco Simoncelli - Rated highly because of his win in Jerez.

9. Steve Jenkner - Where's it all gone wrong? Should be far higher.

10. Mika Kallio - Best of the rest it seems most of the time.

[santori]

Motogp:

Rossi
Biaggi
Gibernau
Nakano
Tamada
Xaus
Barros
Hayden
Capirossi
Checa

250:

Pedrosa
De Puniet
Porto
De Angelis
Elias
West
Rolfo
Poggiali
Aoyama
Nieto

125:

Davizioso
Locatelli
Barbera
Stoner
Lorenzo
....

[N I Tram]

Just for MotoGP:

1 Rossi
2 Seté
3 Biaggi
4 KrJr
5 Xaus
6 Edwards
7 Hayden
8 Capirossi
9 Barros
10 Tamada

[BootsOntheSide]

1 Rossi (can't really argue for anyone else, can you?)
2 Gibernau
3 Biaggi
4 Edwards
5 Tamada
6 Melandri
7 Capirossi
8 Xaus (last year's Ducati seems the better bike, but a great showing for a rookie)
9 Kenny Roberts (showing flashes of his old form)
10 Hayden (is that the best a works Honda can do)

[Schummy]

1-2. Rossi, Gibernau: Difficult to sepparate them. Sete has been the fastest overall generally thru sessions and race laps, but Rossi's Yamaha is probably a bit behind. No much, because Tamada-Barros-Hayden are not far from Checa-Melandri taking in account their respective talent/experience.

3. Biaggi: Not the fastest in MotoGP, but doing a very decent season. I agree he can be a potential WC this year thru consistency.

4. Pedrosa: the boy is fast and a thinker in races. Great material, at least for 250cc

5. Porto: amazing speed, but he has yet to conquer race days.

6. de Puniet: Consistent and very capable, but he lack the ultimate turn of speed or aggresion. A sort of "mini" Biaggi.

7. Tamada: He shows potential. His win in Brazil on merit was a great coup.

8. Barros: Probably the most consistent "podium bidder" appart from the VR-SG-MB trio. One of the very few capable of win in MotoGP.
9. Barbera: This boy is fast! However in this year 125 seems to lack a big star, so I don't know how much this fact is flattening him.

10. Dovizioso: I liked his amazing skills in last lap at the beginning of the season. Now he has done some not so good movements in last laps. I wonder how much is he handicapped by his bike. He is consistent, but consistency is a dangerous thing what tends to disappear when you need it.

11. Locatelli: I have to include him, because IMO Barbera, Dovi and him are very close. He has got experience. He knows how to win points even where he is not particularly fast (e.g.: in Germany), and he is doing a very decent season. I'd like he won the championship, because he seems to be a nice guy.

[x_dt]

(All 3 classes as with Motocourse )

1. Valentino Rossi - No contest (in the MotoGP class at least)
2. Daniel Pedrosa
3. Sete Giberneau - despite recent crashes has usually been the top Honda rider and Rossi's main challenger
4. Max Biaggi
5. Sebastian Porto
6. Ruben Xaus
7. Alex de Angelis
8. Marco Melandri
9. Makoto Tamada
10. Andrea Dovizioso

Best of the rest: Shinya Nakano, Randy de Puniet, Casey Stoner, Hector Barbera.

Some notable disappointments: Troy Bayliss, Neil Hodgson (overshadowed by Xaus), Manuel Poggiali (hasn't looked like winning except in Rio), Mika Kallio (usually off the pace of Stoner).

[Emma]

MotoGP:
1. Rossi
2. Melandri
3. Xaus
4. KR Jr
5. Sete

250cc:
1. Pedrosa (my hero!!)
2. de Puniet
3. Sylvain Guintoli (don't ask - he's my French boy )
4. Elias
5. de Angelis

125cc:
1. Barberá
2. Lorenzo
3. Simoncelli
4. Locatelli
5. Stoner
.....................................................................