Shinya Nakano
Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden rode the factory-backed versions, while the customer machines were ridden by Marco Melandri, Toni Elías, Carlos Checa, and Shinya Nakano. A perennial issue with Honda's GP motorcycle is which team and rider receives the best parts and whether performance differences are due to the rider not the machine. Before the racing season started in 2007, Melandri was quoted as saying, "In the past few tests I've seen a big progression with Pedrosa's bike, but we're still waiting for new parts from Honda."