Out of the pits and onto the track everything got a whole lot faster.

No pressure, just remember that last-minute admonition from the Yamaha mechanic: 'You crash it and we'll kill you.'

The waiting is the hardest part. Our man Bayly was relieved when they called his name - no more time to think about what might happen.

From the outside everything appears the same, but the '05 M1 does sport a few changes which include a taller height, revised upper engine mounts, reduced lateral rigidity, and improved aerodynamics.

I would be riding the Yamaha YZR-M1 at a racetrack I have never been to, with a guest list of test riders that contained more ex-world champions and GP stars than I could count on one hand.

Weighing somewhere around 320 pounds, putting out anywhere from 230-250 horsepower and looking bad-ass is what makes the M1 tick.

The Gauloises Yamaha M1 has been the dominant machine for two seasons in MotoGP.

Like many champions these days, Rossi has chosen to forgo using the number one plate and stick with his personal number during the season.

This Doctor's office is quite a bit different from the ones you and I are used to sitting in.

All the pensive weeks of wondering, imagining and hypothesizing were over: I was in the saddle of the most famous MotoGP bike in the world and there was nowhere else I would have rather been.

Rolling through the gears, the M1 takes off like a bullet. Its remarkable speed and acceleration were matched by its eye-popping braking power.