2008 will see four new faces in the MotoGP class, replacing some very experienced riders and reducing the average rider age by almost three years.

The rider changes from last year are as follows:

Out have gone (with ages in brackets): Carlos Checa (35), Alex Barros (37), Makoto Tamada (30) and Kurtis Roberts (28). In addition, several other experienced riders dropped out during the course of last year, including Kenny Roberts (34), Olivier Jacque (34) and Alex Hofmann (27).

The four riders making their MotoGP debut at the opening race of this year in Qatar are; James Toseland (27), Alex de Angelis (24), Andrea Dovizioso (21) and Jorge Lorenzo (20).

Following these changes the age profile of the entry list has reduced considerably, with the most senior rider now being Loris Capirossi, who will be a few weeks short of his 35th birthday at the opening race of the year.

Capirossi is also the most experienced rider on the grid and will be starting his eleventh season in the premier-class.

The only other riders over the age of 30 at the opening race of the year will be Colin Edwards (34) and Shinya Nakano (30).

The next oldest rider on the grid is seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who recently celebrated his 29th birthday.

The average age of the MotoGP full-time entry list is now 26 years and 19 weeks, a considerable reduction from the start of 2007 when the average was 29 years and 2 weeks.