Now that Toni has secured that elusive maiden win in the MotoGP class - and what a spectacular victory it was - this 2007 season is full of promise for the 23-year-old Spaniard. After an injury-ravaged debut season in the class in 2005, Elias is now super-fit, equipped with an RC212V, and ready to take on the best with a new found confidence after his win in Portugal last season.

His best result in 2005 was a sixth in Turkey, but Toni had missed three consecutive races while recovering from injury, and was only approaching full fitness as the season drew to a close. He missed three races last year too with a shoulder injury and he must hope he can remain damage-free in 2007. His potential is undoubtedly greater than his results so far suggest.

As early as 1998 he was Honda-mounted in the Spanish 125 championship, and in 2001 he posted his first Grand Prix wins on a Honda in the 125cc World Championship finishing third overall.

A sojourn with Aprilia on a 250 in 2002 and 2003 yielded six race wins, five in ’03 when he finished third overall in the World Championship, and firmly established himself as one of the more spectacular riders in the series.

Back on a Honda in 2004, he won in Portugal, but never recaptured the form he had shown the previous season. Yamaha prised Toni away with the lure of a MotoGP ride for 2005 but now Toni is in his second season back on a Honda with a legion of fans urging him on. With his engaging grin and raging commitment on the track and with two seasons of experience in the big class, Toni Elias is again champing at the bit to make life as difficult for his rivals as he can in 2007.

The 24-year-old former World 250cc Champion remains with team boss Fausto Gresini and crew for a third year in this, his fifth season in MotoGP. This valuable continuity, allied to the Italian’s fearless spirit and blinding speed, should ensure that ‘Macio’ (Italian for macho) is fighting for the title again. He finished runner-up in 2005 and was fourth overall last year despite being involved in the multi-bike Catalunya lap one crash that compromised his (and many other riders’) 2007 season.

The Italian has come a long way in a short space of time achieving two major milestones before he was even 21. Aged 15 he won the Dutch TT at the imposing Assen track in 1998. Then by 2002, still only 20, he became the youngest 250cc World Champion (until Dani Pedrosa in 2004). The Ravenna-born Melandri can no longer be described as a prodigy – he is now an achiever – at all capacity levels of the sport.

But it has not been an easy road for this intense individual. Marco was dogged by injuries at critical moments in his first two MotoGP seasons. He injured his ankle in practice for his first premier class race at Suzuka in 2003 and spent the best part of a month recuperating.

At the start of 2004 testing at Sepang he was by no means race fit and he battled bravely through the pain barrier. The sporadic speed he showed throughout 2004 and his utter determination to ride despite the ravages of injury marked him out as an exceptionally tough competitor. His switch to a Honda RC211V for 2005 came when he began a season at full fitness and with a valuable two years experience in the big class under his belt. Success was no real surprise.

The star knows he has the machinery in the RC212V and the support to triumph this season, he just needs some good fortune for a Championship year to become reality. Marco won three races in 2006, despite the Catalunya crash. This could be his year.