Rossi keen to bring testing form to opening race
Added on Friday, April 9th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi keen to bring testing form to opening race
Valentino Rossi is hoping to bring his pre-season form to Qatar this weekend as he begins his world championship defence at a circuit where title rival Casey Stoner is very much the king.
Rossi was in superb form during winter testing, posting the fastest times in five out of six testing sessions over the course of the off-season, coming second to Stoner in the second day of floodlit testing in Qatar last month.
But whilst the Italian knows that Sunday’s race is a different prospect altogether, he is happy to talk up his prospects for this both this weekend and for the championship despite the limited opportunity to try out the 2010 Yamaha.
“Finally we’re at the start of the season and we are all very excited,” he claimed. “The pre-season has gone well for me, our new M1 is good, Yamaha and Bridgestone have done a great job and we have been fast. We have only had six days on track so we still have work to do and things to learn about the new bike, but we are starting in good shape.
“I expect this season to be a big battle with many riders very strong, and I hope that we will show some good racing to the fans! Qatar hasn’t been one of the best tracks for our bike in the last few years but at the test we went well so I hope this will continue again for the race.”
