I bet you said Hayden wouldn't have been world champ either. To use the argument that hayden was gifted the championship is nonsense. So your saying that no one but rossi deserves the title just because he's the best rider? You have to think of it as the team (including the rider) winning the title, not just the rider. As we've seen even rossi can't win when his team aren't doing their job properly, and if hayden was there to pick up the points rossi and his team couldn't get then he fully deserves the title. IMO if spies can get on top machinery, he's in with a shot. I did say Rossi/Yamaha gifted him the title, I'm pretty sure that means the team as a whole. I think the Yamaha broke down 4 times that season and Rossi dumped it at Valencia while leading the championship after Pedrosa messed Haydens chances up. I agree that Hayden picked up the points that Rossi and his team failed to get and was rightly crowned WC but it wasn't very convincing. You saw how much faith Honda had in him by making the 800 to suit Pedrosa the next year. Awwwnuts makes a good point about the size of WSB riders and the 990's being better suited to their build, more a pure power machine that needed to be handled accordingly than the 800's that seem to need a fluent riding style. But there again that doesnt explain the Stoner/Ducati relationship, I'm amazed everytime I see Stoner wringing that bikes neck and the fact, up until now, no-one else seems able to control the Ducati anywhere near as well as him. If he stays fit, Stoner will win it next year. Lorenzo and Rossi will be close, Pedrosa best of the rest, followed by Dovi. I can't see Spies being much better than Toseland or Edwards, I hope I'm wrong and Spies shakes the order up, battling for the top 3 at every race but I don't think so.