It is the season of good tidings yet unfortunately in the world of motorsport all we seem to be hearing at the moment is bad news. Honda have pulled out of Formula 1, whilst Subaru and Suzuki have both pulled out of World Rally - news that goes far beyond sport and not the kind of thing we’re used to. This is not economic downturn, this is economic shutdown.

Of course, factories’ budgets for going racing are an added cost and the level of their involvement is always going to be dependent on their economic fortunes. In MotoGP we have been lucky not to lose any factories so far but for the likes of Kawasaki and Suzuki, who for several years have been playing catch-up with Honda, Yamaha and Ducati in terms of bike development, the task of doing so during a period of financial instability is going to be even more difficult.

As I say, the world is on shaky ground and this goes far beyond sport. People’s jobs and livelihoods are at stake, a lot of families are out of work and their plight puts the relative triviality of sport into perspective. More than ever this Christmas we need to look after each other and the message ‘love thy neighbour’ has never rung more true.

I’m sure MotoGP fans everywhere are looking forward to their first dose of escapism in 2009 with the opening round of the season in Qatar. It will be great to see all those new colours and rider-machine combinations on track together for the beginning of a season of change. The single-tyre scenario is going to change a lot of things and success for the manufacturers will depend a lot on how they can adapt to the new rule with each individual rider.

For this reason the electronics package, in particular the traction control system, is going to be more important than ever. This is why Ducati have assigned factory electronics engineers to each of their satellite teams. Not only is their input crucial but they can also be trusted to keep a secret! If you get to go online and watch footage from the tests you can actually hear the traction control kicking in. Some riders like to use it more than others; Valentino Rossi, for example, uses less than most but the fact is that the more acceleration he asks Yamaha for, the more they need to employ the electronics in order to make the extra power usable.

Valentino is already looking good in testing and in the last session of 2008 at Jerez he was determined to finish on top. Dani Pedrosa has always been fast at Jerez, as have Honda, so Valentino had to push hard to nick top spot and take the psychological advantage into the winter break but, as always, my advice to fans is not to read too much into test times. They can be very misleading, especially at this time of the year, and we won’t really know what everybody has up their sleeves until the flag drops in Qatar.

It was unfortunate Casey Stoner didn’t get to ride but it was great to see the camaraderie he showed to attend the test and help Nicky Hayden, with the pair working together on making their new bike even better. My feeling is that team will work out very well. Nicky is well aware of what he needs to do, it is simply a question of whether he can do it. The Desmosedici is an unorthodox bike but nobody works harder than Nicky and I’m sure he’ll get his reward.

Teamwork could also be the byword at Yamaha, although more amongst the engineers than the riders. The relationship between the factory and satellite teams there is one of the best in the paddock and with a full year of Bridgestone data on the M1, provided by Valentino Rossi no less, I have to say I’d rather be on James Toseland’s bike at the start of the season than, for example, Randy De Puniet’s.

Casey is still the guy Valentino has to watch out for next season and after a difficult 2008 he is well up for the challenge. Casey says he was not under pressure this year but I think he was and it showed. The important thing is that the pressure he felt this time around will turn into experience next year and that could prove to be a valuable weapon. It is going to be very interesting to see how Dani performs on the latest version of the Honda and the target for preseason testing – for him and everybody else - will be working with the electronics to get the bike set up quickly so that they can set fast, consistent lap times from the very beginning of a Grand Prix weekend, as Stoner invariably does.

All in all I can’t wait for the new season to start but I’m enjoying some time off at the moment, spending a few days with Juan Pablo Montoya and our families at his home in Miami. From here we’d all like to wish you a happy festive period and all the very best with your goals – racing or otherwise – for the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

Randy