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The 2006 MotoGP season gets underway in the south of Spain, specifically, Jerez, home to the highest-attended race on the calendar, as more than 237,000 fans are expected on-site. Jerez was the site of perhaps the most controversial incidents of the entire 2005 season, and possible last few years. World Champion Valentino Rossi and his arch-rival, Spanish hero Sete Gibernau, battled the entire race, trading the lead several times on the final lap. Gibernau had a very slight advantage going into the final corner, but Rossi pulled a move few would dare try, and dove to the inside of the Spaniard. Both riders collided, with Gibernau getting the worst of it, running off into the gravel as Rossi sped off and took the checkered flag for the first of 11 wins on his way to a fifth consecutive World Championship. Gibernau was able to recover and finish second. American Nicky Hayden was in third place all alone for the majority of the race, but having lost touch with Rossi and Gibernau, and holding a comfortable lead over Marco Melandri, lost concentration just long enough to fall with seven laps remaining.
The new season holds much promise for the entire paddock, as season debuts generally bring out the most collective optimism of the year. Rossi, in perhaps his final season racing on two wheels, can win an unprecedented sixth consecutive title. Hayden, third in series last year, will look to continue his form from the second half of last year, in which he had three straight podiums to end the year. As the Honda team leader, he is charged with developing the 2006 version of the RC211V, which has had growing pains in pre-season testing, and immediate success is uncertain. Marco Melandri, who placed second in the championship, has also had a tough pre-season, but has proven to be a top contender, as will Texas' own Colin Edwards, John Hopkins and a slew of others who have Rossi firmly in their sights.
The biggest story of the race, at least in the cozy confines of Spain, is focused on the smallest rider in the series - two-time 250cc World Champion Dani Pedrosa, Hayden's new teammate. He steps up to compete with the big boys in the premier class and all eyes will be on the diminutive Spaniard. Joining Pedrosa on the grid this year are class rookies Chris Vermeulen, Randy DePuniet, Casey Stoner and Jose Cardoso.
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