One-two finish in Jerez

	Punters following our advice would have been celebrating along with the 100,000 strong Spanish crowd at Jerez as Pedrosa took a superb took a superb second place

We tipped two riders to star in the opening race of the season in Jerez, Spain, and both men delivered the goods.

We picked veteran Ducati rider Loris Capirossi to win the season opener in Spain, and he did just that, taking pole position and leading from start to finish.

But the real story was our second tip. Spanish wonderkid Dani Pedrosa already has three World Titles under his belt after winning a magazine competition to ride in a race as a teenager – and on his debut in motorcycle racing’s premier class, he made everybody stand up and take notice.

In our preview we earmarked him for success this season – and suggested he’d be a great each-way bet for the win, or a podium finish. Punters following our advice would have been celebrating along with the 100,000 strong Spanish crowd at Jerez as Pedrosa took a superb second place behind Capirossi.

We also predicted problems for the superstar of MotoGP, multiple World Champ Valentino Rossi. His bike had been plagued with chattering problems in pre-season testing – and those problems hadn’t been resolved in time for qualifying, meaning the Yamaha rider could ooly manage a third-row start, and in the end, it cost him dear. A collision with Toni Elias on the second corner put Rossi into the dirt and out of contention.

Being the champion he is, he picked up his bike, minus a footpeg and half a brake lever, and brought it home in 14th place. It looks like it might take a week or two of hard work in the garage and on the test track before Valentino will be up to race-winning pace this season.

What that means is we’re in for one of the most open championships in years – and Capirossi, Pedrosa and Sete Gibernau (who was forced to retire from Sunday’s race after suffering technical problems with his Ducati), are all in with a serious shout of the title this season.

We’ll bring you our tips ahead of the next round, in Qatar, next week.