Ducati: new Honda fast already

The Japanese squad failed to match the performance of their Italian rivals in 2007, with Australian rider Casey Stoner taking 10 victories on his way to the title. Honda scored only two wins thanks to Dani Pedrosa, second in the championship.

Honda have already begun working with the revised bike, which showed good form in the first pre-season test at Valencia earlier this week.

Preziosi reckons their rivals are already on their way to bounce back from the disappointment of 2007.

The Valencia test, however, was dominated by Stoner, who topped the times in both sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

"Honda have the firepower of an aircraft carrier," Preziosi told Motosprint magazine. "They had built a new bike for this year, they had to evolve it during the season, and now they present a completely different one. Impressive.

"I've seen several photos on the Internet, and it looks to me like they have done a completely new and interesting project. My men have gathered some data and we'll examine it at home.

"It's almost a game: we both check each other's exhaust notes and, by measuring the frequency, we try to understand what the other engine is like. We'd spend less if we just exchange the information...

"We've seen that their new bike already has the same speed as the old one. That's a sign that it's doing well, because when you debut a new bike you work with the known performance in order to find reliability, after which you try to improve.

"As for the noise, it seems like they have gone for a screamer configuration, otherwise it's simply the result of higher revs.

"We won't be making big revolutions. The new bike, which is being developed by (test rider) Guareschi here, will have its debut at Jerez (Nov 27-29) but there won't be visible differences. Just small improvements to make it more rideable, both in the engine and in the bike frame set-up."