Daniel Pedrosa’s size and weight have always been a problem in the GP paddock. When Honda threw its weight behind Pedrosa in the 250cc and developed their then new 250cc bike around him, it caused a great deal of heartburn for Roberto Rolfo who was his team mate and who had been riding the 250 longer than Pedrosa. Pedrosa weighed only 48 kilos and Rolfo was much heavier and taller and found the new bike completely uncomfortable. It even ended his career in 250s. Now another Italian Marco Simoncelli seems to be kick starting the same debate in the MotoGP class. Simoncelli is many inches taller and weighs more than 20 kilos in excess over Pedrosa’s weight. Both ride for Honda. Simoncelli has been complaining that his height and weight have been to his detriment and to satisfy him Honda have tried to create a new fairing around him by putting him in a wind tunnel along with the bike. While that has improved Simoncelli’s performances this year, the man believes that there should be a minimum weight for the rider and bike combination, which means rider such as Pedrosa will have to carry some ballast to come to the minimum mark. Simoncelli has found support in Rossi and Nicky Hayden both of whom are heavier and bigger riders. But Pedrosa has lambasted the whole proposal and has unsurprisingly found an ally in Casey Stoner. Casey Stoner is still smarting from having been been taken out of the last race by Rossi and therefore is likely to be in the camp opposite Rossi’s. Also Stoner is no heavyweight himself. Setting the politics aside, it is indeed stupid to come up with weight penalties when the manufacturers are trying to make bikes lighter, faster and more fuel efficient.