Has there ever been a more anticipated season in Grand Prix racing?

The formula is perfect: the best rider on not quite the best bike versus a pack of Hondas sprinkled with a light seasoning of revenge. Preseason testing showed us that the Yamaha M1 wasn't that far off. Val Rossi and - critically - Burgess have demonstrated that already. What we don't know is how the bike will behave after 30 minutes at race pace as opposed to five laps. We'll have to wait for Sunday at Welkom for that. So how do the forces line up?

Honda
A few notable tweaks to the rear suspension linkage and, no doubt, a good deal of software refinement, as well. The question for HRC is which of their riders will provide the direction for development as Rossi and Ducati put on the pressure. The official Repsol team have had the new suspension from the start, and Telefonica and Camel got it for the last test. But, unfortunately, it rained and there is a bit of pre-emptive moaning and groaning going regarding the amount of time they've had to assess the new parts.

It was notable that Barros was up to pace very quickly at the last test, which is usually a good indication of form. Hayden looks set to continue his rapid rise and become a contender, but conversely, Biaggi is out of sorts and arguing with HRC. The Telefonica duo of Edwards and Gibernau looks well-set, and Tamada and his Bridgestones are the unpredictable Honda combination.

Yamaha
Rossi's bike looks to have a new head casting - does that mean they're now using a conventional four-valve layout? Probably. The engine also sounds different, so has the firing order been rearranged? Possibly. Crew chief Jerry Burgess says they have tested four engine configurations and decided on the one that they want to go forward with. Other than that, no clues. Yamaha's investment in Rossi already looks to have paid off. How his teammates react will prove to be a very interesting subplot during this upcoming season. Melandri is their investment for the future and, after an injury-blighted first year in the top class, we can expect him to track his good friend Valentino. The questions that will be answered are, can Checa benefit from Rossi's leadership, and will Norifumi Abe be able to justify his ride, particularly after a lackluster testing season?

Suzuki
There is light at the end of a long tunnel, and it isn't a train coming the other way. Kenny Roberts is more optimistic than he has been in years, which may have something to do with the presence of Erv Kanemoto in the pit garage. It may also have a lot to do with the fly-by-wire electronics starting to behave predictably. The change from Michelin to Bridgestone tires doesn't appear to have caused any problems. John Hopkins has gotten over his ankle surgery and, despite the fact that he and his teammate don't appear to have exchanged many words since their Mugello collision, this season, he will continue to remind us why he was such a catch for Suzuki.

Kawasaki
All change. Last year, the bike looked like a stealth fighter and, now, it looks like a miniature first-generation Ninja 750. Swiss designer/tuner Eskil Suter has built a new chassis, two Japanese engineers have moved to Switzerland to act as contacts with the factory, and new signing Shinya Nakano is determined to show Yamaha that they made a mistake when they rather unceremoniously discarded him. Just as importantly, the disorganization of last year appears to have been addressed, Nakano has brought over his race engineer, and his teammate Alex Hoffman has Hopkins' old Red Bull Yamaha crew chief. Like Suzuki, the green bikes are on Bridgestone tires.

Aprilia
The bike has not changed, and it still has some fundamental design problems. However, you can rely on Jeremy McWilliams and British Superbike Champ Shaky Byrne to give it the best ride possible. McWilliams has already copped a couple of broken ribs in testing. Jeremy's attitude is that he can ride anything provided it's got the best tires, hence his move from the Roberts team. Byrne was faster in testing and is grinning like an idiot as he restrains himself from asking Rossi for his autograph.

Ducati
Even faster in a straight line - 216mph at Barcelona! - but slower over the course of a full lap. That sounds like even more of what they had last year. They've kept the same riders, which are a big bonus, especially with regard to Troy Bayliss who now knows the tracks well. For the first time, there are leased Ducatis for the D'Antin team, which is fielding last year's World Superbike duo of Hodgson and Xaus - both of whom have been impressive in testing. The only worry there is a lack of sponsorship.

Proton
The 2004 bike shows the fruits of John Barnard's labor. The chassis is fabricated from plate and bar, not welded extrusions, to a remarkable degree of accuracy. The top end of the motor is also new, as is the bodywork. It looks superbly engineered, but the big question mark is the tires - Proton is fielding the only Dunlop-shod bikes on the grid. The Roberts camp is keen to stress that this is now an engineering project, not just a matter of fitting what Dunlop have in the truck. The unspoken subtext here is that if things don't go smoothly, Chuck Aksland will go down to the local Michelin shop with credit card in hand.

SO WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN

I've always said that Rossi is the favorite to win again. As someone once said about Jack Nicklaus, when he's on his game, he wins; when he has a bad day, he finishes second; and when he has a really terrible day, he finishes third. The only way I can see that plot coming unravelled is if one of the Honda riders asserts his authority very early on and makes himself the focus of HRC's effort. That would probably mean winning two of the first three races.

The key word this year will be consistency, which immediately makes you want to bet on Colin Edwards. For sure, no rider will be able to afford many mistakes. What it comes down to is that Rossi stands on the brink of undisputed greatness - the only men to have won the title on different makes of bikes are Geoff Duke, Giacomo Agostini, and Eddie Lawson. Only one of them, Steady Eddie, won back-to-back championships for two different manufacturers when he switched from Yamaha to Honda for the 1989 GP season.

Can Rossi do the Eddie shuffle? We shall see.