VR at JLC Starhill Gallery

Portugal Win

Valentino Rossi, seven-time world champion, kept the race for the MotoGP title very much alive by winning the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril ahead of Spain's Danny Pedrosa in second and championship leader Casey Stoner from Australia who finished third.

Rossi dedicated his win to Colin McRae, former world rally champion, who was killed this weekend along with his five-year-old son and two family friends in a helicopter crash in Scotland.

"He was one of my idols when I was young. He was the Kevin Schwarz (US Grand Prix rider of 1990's) of motor rallies," said Rossi.

"It is a very sad day for motor sports but I'm happy to have been able to win for him today."

Rossi crossed the finish line just ahead of Pedrosa after a tense battle with the Spaniard to claim only his fourth victory of the season, while Stoner finished a distant third.

"This victory was very important for me at the moment," Rossi said after the race.

"When you haven't won for a long time it's like you haven't had sex for a long time, men will understand what I mean."

"It's a big win after the problems we had on the other circuits. And it was a great battle with Dani (Pedrosa) and, Casey (Stoner) and Nicky (Hayden). I had fun."

An irritated Stoner expressed disappointment with the result and said he suffered mechanical problems.

"I was a little bit disappointed, but I had a small problem with the clutch which made me lose contact with the leaders," he said.

With 100 points still up for grabs in the remaining four races, Stoner, who has won eight races this year, holds a 76-point lead over a resurgent Rossi going into next week's race in Japan.

"Our job now is to try and keep the championship open as long as possible and to fight Dani for second place," said Rossi.

The Italian Yamaha rider is in second place ahead of Pedrosa, who has a 99-point deficit on Stoner, who, if he succeeds will become the first Australian world champion since Mick Doohan in 1994-1995.

Fourth place for Rossi after dissapointing US Grand Prix Laguna Seca

Valentino Rossi took fourth place in the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca today, after a spirited ride in difficult conditions from fifth on the grid. Team-mate Edwards was unable to fulfil his dream of a home-race success and crossed the line in eleventh after a race led from flag-to-flag by series leader Casey Stoner.

Rossi lost some ground at the start and found himself behind Edwards for the first part of the lap. He quickly moved ahead of his team-mate however and the pair crossed the line for the first time in fourth and fifth respectively. On lap five Marco Melandri took Edwards and set off after Rossi, overtaking the Italian a few laps later and relegating him to fifth. After Melandri had in turn passed Dani Pedrosa, Rossi quickly began to close the gap on the Spaniard until he was able to strike at the end of lap twenty to claim fourth. For several laps he then looked to be closing the gap to Melandri but a lack of grip forced him to slacken off and he eventually crossed the line 30.664 seconds behind Stoner.

Edwards looked comfortable in sixth for much of the race but as his tyres too lost performance in the latter stages he was caught by a collection of riders and relegated to eleventh. Rossi and Edwards hold on to second and seventh respectively in the championship but the gap from Rossi to Stoner is extended to 44 points, with seven rounds remaining. The MotoGP paddock now embarks on a well-deserved summer break before action recommences at Brno in the Czech Republic in late August.

Postmatch
"Today was incredibly disappointing because, with the tyre situation like this, it was like our rivals were in a different race. My team and I worked very hard, especially after yesterday's crash, and we did the maximum we could to have our bike in the best possible condition. However without grip it was impossible to fight with the leaders. I rode the best race I could and I was very happy to pass Pedrosa, but I couldn't catch Melandri; we just didn't have the right rhythm or grip today. I'm very sad for last weekend in Sachsenring because there Michelin was strong and we missed a chance to make up some important points there. After today we can see just how important! It seems that tyres are the deciding factor for this season and this is a pity for the fans and for the show. We are not giving up; there are seven races left and we know that Michelin are going to work as hard as they possibly can in order to make the situation better for the second part of the season, but Stoner is very strong and we know it will be very hard. Anyway, we have some holidays now and we will be back in Brno to fight as hard as we can until the end."

Feeling bad after crash

Valentino Rossi's 2007 title aspirations took a dent on Sunday at the Sachsenring, when the Italian suffered his first non-score of the season after falling from his Fiat Yamaha.

Rossi started from sixth on the grid, slipped to ninth at turn one, then passed Shinya Nakano and Alex Barros to reach the rear of Randy de Puniet's Kawasaki by lap 3 of 30.

The Italian initially struggled to find a way around the ZX-RR rider, before making a creative lunge through a long low-speed right hander on lap five. Whilst Rossi made the pass stick, he fell just seconds later when he lost the front of his M1 as he tried to complete the turn.

"Unfortunately I made a mistake today and I want to say sorry to everyone - my team, Yamaha and of course all my fans," said a downbeat Rossi. "I lost some places at the start and had to wait a lap before I could start to push, but everything was feeling very good.

"Getting past de Puniet was hard because in the part of the track where it's best to overtake he was very fast. Finally I made my move and I made a great pass but I made a mistake and lost the front," he confirmed.

To make matters worse, Casey Stoner's late race tyre problems meant that the Italian could have gained valuable ground on the young Australian. Stoner began the event 21 points ahead of Rossi, but left Germany 32 points clear - despite limping home in fifth position, his joint worse finish of the year.

"I'm so disappointed because today our package was working very well and we missed the chance to make up a lot of points on Stoner," stated former five times MotoGP world champion Rossi. "We know from Pedrosa and Colin [Edwards'] performance that the Michelin tyres worked well until the end and I'm sad that we weren't there to fight.

"Luckily Stoner was only fifth so the points situation is not as bad as it could have been. I'm very glad we only have seven days until the next race because right now I'm feeling quite bad, but very determined for America!" he concluded, referring to next weekend's US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, the last event before the MotoGP summer break.

"It's a great disappointment with Valentino because we lost the chance to recover some points," admitted team director Davide Brivio. "However this is racing and we know that our package is working very well now and we will get the chance to try again in just one week's time. Today gives us double motivation for Laguna."

Incredible come back !

Valentino Rossi, riding a Yamaha, made an incredible comeback to win the Dutch Grand Prix here on Saturday. It was a remarkable victory for Rossi who started 11th on the grid but had already risen to third with a quarter of the race run.

Rossi snatched victory 1.909-seconds ahead of championship leader Casey Stoner of Australia with American reigning champion Nicky Hayden jumping from 13th position to third at 6.077 after 26 laps on the TT track.

"Waouw, amazing! What a great race! Everything worked like a dream," said Rossi.

"The motorcycle was perfectly adapted and the Michelin tyres were perfect. I adopted an aggressive tactic and they were worn at the end of the race but they held up.

"It's a great result and important for the championship. I didn't really expect to have such an achievement," said Rossi.

Stoner quickly passed pole-sitter and countryman Chris Vermeulen and he was soon followed by American John Hopkins.

Hopkins failed to exert much pressure on Stoner but that came soon enough as a storming Rossi passed the American just before the halfway mark in the race.

The battle for victory raged with Rossi hounding Stoner until three laps from the end when he passed the 22-year-old on a long corner and comfortably eased away to reignite his championship bid.

It was the sixth win at Assen for Rossi, having won four times in MotoGP, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2002, once in 250cc in 1998 and once in 125cc in 1997.

Stoner now leads Rossi by just 19 points at the top of the standings.

But Rossi's confidence is building at the half-way stage of the 18-leg world championship series.

"It's not a slim margin by any means against a rider of Casey's calibre. But if we succeed in improving the motorcycle and above all the tyres, everything remains possible."

Rossi has room to work on the improvements he needs as the next round takes place in Sachenring, Germany on July 17.

Failure to keep pace with Stoner

Valentino Rossi blamed tyre problems for his failure to keep pace with Casey Stoner during the British Grand Prix. The Italian Yamaha rider finished fourth, 21 seconds behind race-winner Stoner, who increased his points lead over the five-time world champion from 14 to 26 points.

But he looked on course for a podium finish until his wet Michelin tyres began to fall apart as a dry line emerged in the late stages of the race and left him powerless to defend from Chris Vermeulen's Suzuki.

"Unfortunately today the conditions were not good for us at all and we had a lot of problems," said Rossi.

"In the full dry we would have been at our strongest, in full wet we would have been also quite good, but with a drying track like this we struggled a lot.

"I had to go very carefully just to be able to finish and, because we were riding with a wet tyre on a dry track, my tyre was destroyed by the end."

Rossi went off the track at Coppice after passing John Hopkins for third in the middle portion of the race and said that he suffered from an extreme lack of grip afterwards.

"I made a mistake and ran off the track when I was going the best I went during the whole race and then as the track began to dry I had less and less grip," he added.

"It seems that this year, when the conditions aren't perfect, we suffer a lot."

Rossi's performance was made all the more bizarre by virtue of his team-mate Colin Edwards finishing second - ten seconds ahead of him despite professing to hate wet weather races.

Stoner holds off Rossi at Spain

Championship leader Casey Stoner produced an ice-cool performance to hold off a charging Valentino Rossi and claim his fourth race victory of the season in a thrilling Catalan MotoGP on Sunday.

A Spanish party !

After enjoying the raucous backing of over 85,000 fans at his home circuit, Valentino Rossi is looking forward to yet more passionate support in Barcelona this Sunday. Despite the recent success of local rider Dani Pedrosa, Rossi remains a firm favourite with the Spanish fans and always looks forward to performing for them, whether it be at Barcelona, Jerez or Valencia.

"Barcelona is always a great race for me and I've won there the last three years with Yamaha, so hopefully we can do it again," says Rossi. "I am lucky to have lots of fans in Spain, even though I have had some close rivalries with Spanish riders, and it is always a pleasure to ride in front of them. I got a fantastic reception when I won the race at Jerez earlier in the season so hopefully I can start the same kind of party in Barcelona.

"Dani Pedrosa will also have a lot of support this weekend and I expect him to be a difficult rival once again after such a good race at Mugello. Also Stoner will be strong, especially down the long straight, but Yamaha and Michelin have worked really hard to close the gap on our rivals and I think we are ready to battle with them at every track now. After Mugello we have three more races at three of my favourite tracks so hopefully we can continue with the good progress we have made recently and be back on top of the podium again!"

6 in a row at home race

Valentino Rossi set yet another record in his extraordinary racing career today, becoming the first rider in the history of the sport to take six consecutive wins at his home circuit. The 85,480 adoring fans who had braved the threat of rain and turned the green hillsides of the Mugello valley bright yellow were rewarded in style as the Italian scored an emphatic and emotional victory, his fourth here for Yamaha and eighth in total from twelve years of racing.

Under miraculously dry skies, the Fiat Yamaha Team rider got a poor start from third on the grid and found himself down in eighth position at turn one. Once he had built up enough heat in his Michelin tyres however he set out in earnest, picking off riders one-by-one and moving up to second behind Dani Pedrosa by lap seven of 23.

Two laps later Rossi made his move on the Spaniard and from then on the pair were racing just a few tenths of a second apart, with Rossi extending the advantage around the twistier parts of the circuit and Pedrosa closing it slightly down the long home straight.

Little by little however Rossi began to pull away and he eventually crossed the line 3.074 seconds ahead of Pedrosa. A late pass by Alex Barros on series-leader Casey Stoner for third place helped Rossi's points deficit and he now lies just nine points behind Stoner in the standings, with some of his favourite races coming up in the next few weeks.

Rossi's postmatch

Position: 1stTime: 42'42.385

"To win in Mugello once again is an incredible emotion for me and I am very happy at this moment. Racing in front of the fans here is always something unbelievable and they give me an extra motivation.

It's an incredible feeling to see so much yellow around the track, the fans were 'coming crazy' today and it was a wonderful race! As we had hoped it stayed dry, the sun came out and everything went to plan! My team have worked brilliantly, my bike was perfect and I could ride it exactly how I wanted, I need to say a huge thank you to them and also to Michelin.

I didn't get a very good start but once my tyres had warmed up my M1 really flew and I was able to fight back to the front. From the very beginning everyone was pushing at 100% and it was great fun in those first few laps!

It was really a perfect race for me today and I felt like I had everyone on my side; Mugello is a magical track for me and this victory gives us a lot of power and confidence for the next races. I had a special helmet for this race with a big heart on it and today I think we showed that we really have a lot of heart at Yamaha. This is a great, great moment for me."

Gunning for six in a row at Mugello

Valentino Rossi has been imperious at the Italian Grand Prix since 2002 and the Italian goes for a sixth successive victory at Mugello on Sunday.

The seven-times world champion lies second in the MotoGP standings, 21 points behind Australian Casey Stoner after five races, but is the undisputed master of the twisting Tuscan circuit in the hills north of Florence.

Rossi has finished top of the podium at Mugello every year since the MotoGP class was introduced in 2002.“I’ve got a special relationship with Mugello. I’ve won many races there, in particular the last three years with Yamaha,” he told the official MotoGP site (www.motogp.com).

“It’s a track on which I’ve disputed the greatest races of my career. And even though this year there is another race in Italy, at Misano (in the San Marino Grand Prix in September), Mugello stands out because of the big crowds and the atmosphere.”

Rossi made a good start to the season, riding his Yamaha to second place behind Stoner in the opening race in Qatar before winning in Spain.

Since then, however, he has gone off the boil. Second place in the Chinese grand prix in early May was sandwiched between a tenth-place finish in Turkey and sixth place at a wet Le Mans circuit two weeks ago. Stoner, meanwhile, notched up two more wins and a third place to take control of the championship.

Rossi’s struggle to control his Yamaha on the slippery circuit at the French Grand Prix underlined the disadvantages of the Michelin tyres he uses compared to the Bridgestones used by Stoner.

“We stayed in France an extra two days and we’ve made some good steps forward, in particular on the tyres,” Rossi said.

“I’m expecting a good battle this weekend. This time the weather should be on our side.” Rossi’s Yamaha will have to be perfectly set-up at Mugello, where the 1.14km straight - one of the longest in MotoGP racing - should favour the raw speed of the Ducati ridden by Stoner. Stoner will be keen to erase the memory of his race in Italy last year, when he was flipped roughly off his bike at the fast Arrabbiata bend on the ninth lap.

“Mugello is one of my favourite tracks. It’s where I got my first pole in 125cc,” he said.

I don't settle for second

Valentino Rossi was making no apologies for his minor mistake late in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, which handed victory to championship leader Casey Stoner.

As at round one in Qatar, where the pair had also battled, Rossi's Yamaha was blown away by the Ducati along the straights - with Shanghai's enormous 1200m back stretch suiting Stoner's Desmosedici perfectly.

However, in terms of overall lap time the pair were all but equal; Rossi closing the gap through the twisty sections, where he frequently passed Stoner, but then losing any ground gained down the straight.

The pressure of battling so closely with Rossi has caused many an opponent to crack in the past. But Stoner was rock solid and a thrilling showdown looked in store until the Italian missed his braking point into the hairpin on lap 16 of 22. That let Suzuki's John Hopkins into second and by the time Rossi retook the runner-up position Stoner was out of reach.

"I enjoyed today a lot, it was a great race, a really exciting battle and my Yamaha was fantastic to the end," claimed Rossi, now 15 points behind Stoner. "We knew that this track would be difficult for us so to be able to fight with Stoner at 100% for the entire race was a great feeling. Of course it's not a win, but I think second place is a very good result for us here.

"I didn't want to give up and just ride for second, I wanted to try to pass him and I made some good overtaking manoeuvres but wasn't able to stay in front down the straight. Then I made a mistake when I hit a bump when braking, had to release the brake and ran off track. It was a pity, but when you're riding on the limit lap after lap then things like this can happen; that's racing!

"Anyway I knew I couldn't give up, I had a nice battle with John and then was able to take second. I think these 20 points are really important and we're still second in the championship. I'm really more sad for what happened in Turkey because if we hadn't had the%

Rossi clinches pole in Shanghai

Five-time world champion Valentino Rossi claimed pole position for the China Grand Prix in Shanghai.
The Italian swept round the 5.281-km circuit in one minute 58.424 seconds on his 20th lap to claim his third pole position in four races this year. Suzuki's John Hopkins was second 0.891 seconds back while his fellow American and Rossi's Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards completed the front row. Ducati's championship leader Casey Stoner was fourth

1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 1:58.424
2. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 1:59.315
3. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 1:59.406
4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda 1:59.516
5. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Honda 1:59.602
6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 1:59.863
7. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 1:59.985
8. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 2:00.052
9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2:00.087
10. Shinyan Nakano (JPN) 2:00.157

Disappointed again !

Valentino Rossi was at a loss to explain the tyre problems that he suffered in his disastrous Turkish Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old Italian led a Yamaha one-two in qualifying, but slipped back in the race to finish tenth – a result that saw his nine point advantage in the world championship turn into a ten point deficit to Casey Stoner – who won the race.

"We are very disappointed today because we had high expectations for this race,” said Rossi. “But instead we had some unexpected problems with the tyre and it's been a disaster for us.

Rossi lost the lead on the opening lap when he slid wide on the exit of turn 13, but instead of coming back at the Ducatis of Stoner and Loris Capirossi, he instead found himself falling down the field on his Michelins on a day when Bridgestone-shod bikes took eight of the top nine places.

“Something happened to it after some laps and I couldn't fulfil the potential we had here,” Rossi added. “We don't know the reason yet for the problem but now Michelin are trying to understand what happened.”

“The tyre started to lose all grip and I had to slow right down because I was quite scared. It felt like there was a big problem with the tyre and I had to go very carefully just to finish.”

The five-time world champion kept up his record of having never won at the Istanbul Park circuit, but at least he fared better than his team-mate Colin Edwards, who emerged bruised and battered after a first-lap pile-up that eliminated him, Dani Pedrosa and Olivier Jacque from the race.

Perfect qualifying for Rossi in Istanbul

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards put themselves in the best possible starting positions for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Turkey with a one-two in today’s Official Qualifying. Shaking off the mild set-up problems they had encountered on yesterday’s dirty track, the pair worked steadily on fine-tuning their 800cc YZR-M1s throughout the majority of the hour-long session before posting the best flying laps on qualifying tyres to take the top two spots on the grid for tomorrow’s 22-lap race.

With the weather staying dry once again the grip on track was considerably better than yesterday and Rossi’s eventual pole time of 1’52.795 was just inside the existing lap record, although still slightly slower than last year’s pole time. The Italian moved into pole with eight minutes remaining after his first flying lap before consolidating his position with another even faster lap on his second qualifying tyre soon after. Rossi’s second pole of the season and ninth consecutive front row start puts him in a strong position to challenge for a win at one of only three circuits on this year’s calendar where he has yet to stand on top of the podium. Edwards’ second qualifying lap of 1’52.944 was good enough for second position behind his team-mate and the American will start ahead of Dani Pedrosa, who mounted a strong challenge in the closing stages but finished 0.027 adrift of the American.

Valentino Rossi
“I’m very happy to have a pole position at this track, which has never been one of my favourites! I’ve had some bad moments here in the past but this year it feels like a different track for me and I’m having great fun! My M1 is very competitive, a lot more fun to ride here than in the past and the new modifications we have for our engine have made an important difference to our overall performance. The team has done a great job because we had some problems yesterday but they’ve found some good solutions and now Colin and I are first and second. My tyres are working well and we’ve found the right front for tomorrow.

We need to make a final decision about the rear in the morning. With the qualifying tyre my bike really flew and I was able to do a very good lap; I started my first lap a few minutes earlier than the others and then I knew that I could improve a little bit more with the second qualifying tyre. Anyway all three of us are very close on the front row so I think it’s going to be a tight battle tomorrow. Let’s hope for good weather and see what happens. “

Fright for 1st Turkey title

Valentino Rossi hopes to win for the first time at Istanbul as he bids to strengthen his place at the top of the MotoGP standings.

The Fiat Yamaha team rider has never won at the Turkish venue but aims to put that right on Sunday as he bids to pull further away from Ducati Marlboro's Casey Stoner in the championship standings.

Rossi does not favour Istanbul or the following venue in the championship, Shanghai in China, but has set his sights on a first win in Turkey.

"The next two races, Turkey and China, are ones that I don't like so much and I have never won at Istanbul, but it's a great circuit with some very fast corners," said Rossi.

"If the bike works well then it will be great fun I think. Last year I made an error early in the race and it cost me the chance for a podium, but I won't be making the same mistake this year.

"We are leading the championship but it's a long season and we have to aim to get on the podium at every race."

Rossi knows Stoner's Ducati will have the edge in the next two GPs as the layout favours his bike's superior top speed.

"The difficult thing over the next two races is going to be horsepower, because both Istanbul and Shanghai have very long straights," said Rossi.

"We tried some new things at the Jerez test to improve this and I know that Yamaha have been working very hard in Japan so hopefully we will have a little bit of improvement in this area when we get to Turkey."

Putting the record straight

Istanbul Park is one of only three circuits on the current calendar where Valentino Rossi has yet to take victory in the premier-class of MotoGP, the others being Laguna Seca in the USA and Misano in Italy, which will this year host a Grand Prix for the first time since 1993. It is a figure the 28-year-old is looking to reduce as he aims for his first back-to-back victories since Mugello and Catalunya last year."

"The next two races, Turkey and China, are ones that I don't like so much and I have never won at Istanbul, but it's a great circuit with some very fast corners," says Rossi. "If the bike works well then it will be great fun I think. Last year I made an error early in the race and it cost me the chance for a podium, but I won't be making the same mistake this year! We are leading the championship but it's a long season and we have to aim to get on the podium at every race."

"The difficult thing over the next two races is going to be horsepower, because both Istanbul and Shanghai have very long straights. We tried some new things at the Jerez test to improve this and I know that Yamaha have been working very hard in Japan so hopefully we will have a little bit of improvement in this area when we get to Turkey. The other question is for the tyres, because it's the first time this season that we're going to be racing at a track that we haven't tested at. With the new restrictions it's going to be very important to make the right choices and also we don't know what the weather will do."

2007 Laureus Awards

Vale!

Get Your Rudebox!!

Valentino Rossi led start to finish to claim the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez and, with it, the lead in the MotoGP World Championship. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was second with Rossi’s teammate Colin Edwards third.

"Today for me was a great emotion, back to the victory after September (in Malaysia),I think," Rossi said. "So the taste of first place is unbelievable. Is a great, great pleasure.

"We work very well, so I have to thank all my team from (crew chief) Jeremy Burgess to all the guys. Today my Yamaha work very, very well and also the tires go a lot faster to the end, so I am a lot, a lot happy. Win in front of this crowd is unbelievable. I like a lot this racetrack. Last year I had bad, bad luck and also today is a great battle with Dani (Pedrosa) and so I’m very happy, also for Colin (Edwards) and for all the team, because two Yamahas on the podium mean is a great work for us."

The order of the lead trio didn’t change from the first lap to the last. Pedrosa hung close until the 14th of 27 laps when Rossi broke the one second barrier. The lead starting the second half of the race was 1.286 secs. and Rossi would more than double it before backing off to win by 1.246 seconds.

The victory gives him 46 points to 36 for Pedrosa and Marlboro Ducati’s Casey Stoner-fifth today-who share second.

"Is an important victory, because the championship is long and now we have two difficult racetracks for us, but now I just feel this moment and I have to thank you to everybody," Rossi said.

The victory, Rossi's 59th in the premier class and 85th overall, was notable for a number of reasons. It ended a five race winless streak, his longest drought since his first premier class win at Donington in 2000. It also ended a run of six different winners in six races, going back to Rossi's win last year in Malaysia. (Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi, Toni Elias, Troy Bayliss and Casey Stoner were the other winners.) And it puts Rossi only nine wins behind all-time premier class leader Giacomo Agostini, his fellow Italian who finished his career with 68.

Rossi : It's going to be an exciting race

Former five-times MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi may have found a jump in performance to qualify second on the grid, after mixed free practice fortunes, but the Italian still believes the closing stages of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix will be a step into the unknown.

After struggling for grip once again this morning and finishing the final free practice session way down in 18th, it was soon clear that the warmer afternoon temperatures favoured his Fiat Yamaha as he posted his fastest time of the weekend so far early in the qualifying hour.

With eight minutes to go Rossi then moved into pole position with the first of his two Michelin qualifying tyres, only to be ousted by team-mate Colin Edwards less than a minute later as the Texan set his first flying lap. The last five minutes saw the usual flurry of quick laps and position-changing amongst the leading protagonists before Rossi took the top slot once again with a lap of 1min 39.453secs - before being pushed into second by Honda-mounted home hero Dani Pedrosa, who lapped just0.051secs quicker than the Italian.

"It's been an up and down weekend for us so it's good that we've achieved our number one goal of getting onto the front row," said Rossi afterwards. "It's going to be very important for tomorrow's race I think. It was a good qualifying session and my lap was quite good, but we know it's possible to be a lot quicker because last month at the test I was more than one second faster! We knew it would be difficult to match the 1min 38.394secs I did then however, because then we had four qualifying tyres and with the new tyre restrictions now we only have two.

"With the race tyre we were struggling quite a bit yesterday and this morning it was even worse, so we were a bit worried, but we looked at the situation together with Michelin and found a good solution and this afternoon we were in much better shape. I think tyres are going to be the biggest issue tomorrow and the last ten laps especially are going to be very hard and difficult for everyone," he predicted. "I think it's going to be an exciting race for the fans!"

Lose a cat-and-mouse battle

Casey Stoner won a cat-and-mouse battle with Valentino Rossi to take victory in the season-opening Qatar MotoGP. The pair, who started at the front of the grid, traded the lead throughout the race with Australian Stoner finally prevailing for his first MotoGP win.

Five-time champion Rossi was more than satisfied with his start to the season."The Yamaha was well balanced and took the corners well, I am happy because we made the right tyre choice. A win is better but second is not so bad."

Rossi started on pole and held the lead until the end of the first lap when Stoner's power down the straight propelled him past the Italian. From then on, the pair shared the lead and began to pull away from Spaniard Pedrosa.

Stoner held the lead for the majority of the second half of the race and when Rossi tried to make a move with four laps to go, the Australian immediately went back in front. The 21-year-old then put in his fastest lap on the last circuit of the track to claim victory.

Qatar MotoGP result:
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 43min 02.788 seconds
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha +2.838 secs
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Honda +8.530
4. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki +9.071
5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda +17.433
6. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha +18.647
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki +22.916
8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda +23.057
9. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati +25.961
10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda +28.456

Rossi claims pole position in opening

Valentino Rossi's bid to reclaim the MotoGP world championship got off to the best possible start as he claimed pole position for the opening round at the Losail circuit in Qatar.

The Italian, seeking his fifth MotoGP title and an eighth world crown overall, lapped the desert circuit just outside Doha in one minute 55.002 seconds, edging out Ducati Marlboro's Casey Stoner by just five thousandths of a second as the chequered flag fell.

Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards completed the front row line-up in third place, while reigning champion Nicky Hayden will start the race on the back of row three after bringing his Repsol Honda home in ninth.

Rossi said: "It's very important. The start of the season is always important for the rest of the championship.I made a mistake on the first lap but the second lap was very fast. But we wait for Saturday. I think we will have a fight because there are three or four riders with the pace to win."

Good start

Valentino Rossi and Texan team mate Colin Edwards led the way on Thursday as Yamaha dominated free practice for Saturday's MotoGP season-opener in Qatar.

The charismatic Italian, determined to regain the title he held for five years before losing out to Honda's American Nicky Hayden last year, was quickest overall with a lap of 1:56.464 in the afternoon.

The 28-year-old, race winner for the past two years at the Losail International circuit, had set the third best time in the first session. Edwards was quickest in the morning in 1:56.665.
"We were in a good situation at the test here but really the most important test was (last month in) Jerez (in Spain) because there we understood a lot more about our bike and we made some important changes." Rossi said.

Ducati's young Australian Casey Stoner, on pole in Qatar last year, was third quickest in 1:56.745. Hayden, who had shoulder surgery after the end of last season, could manage only 15th on the timesheets with a best lap of 1:58.021.

Bounce back

Valentino Rossi has warned his rivals that they should fear his new-look Yamaha M1 this season after claiming that he and his team are fully motivated by the defeat they suffered last year.

The Italian was pipped to the 2006 title by Honda's Nicky Hayden, but feels that his team are in much better shape heading into the new season than they were this time last year.

"I think we must be feared because we've transformed the sour taste of a defeat at the last race into a great motivation," he was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport at today's official Yamaha launch.

"We are confident and concentrated, we'll be very strong......

"The bike is enjoyable to ride and is incredibly quick. The design is one and we don't need to patch it anymore like in 2006. We have been competitive on every track during winter testing.

"It's too early to feel like winners; it will be a tough fight, but we're ready for it." Rossi has again singled out Hayden's teammate Dani Pedrosa as his main challenger for the crown - although admits there remains some minor concerns about Michelin's race pace.

"The main rivals? Everyone, but certainly Pedrosa and Honda more than the rest. The rivals on Bridgestone perhaps still have some problems. The only thing that still needs some sorting out for us is the race tyres from Michelin, as they aren't at their best yet. We have given them lots of data, now we hope they'll bring us some good material in Qatar."

New Powerful M1

Seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi reckons the secret to Yamaha’s brilliant winter testing performances has been the smooth power delivery on his new factory YZR-M1 800.

Several of Rossi’s rivals have commented on the Yamaha’s power delivery advantage when they’ve followed the Italian and American team-mate Colin Edwards in testing.

And Rossi said it had been one of the focal points of development for Yamaha engineers during the pre-season campaign: "I am happy about my engine delivery. We work a lot with the engineers and I think we have some good ideas with this engine and the bike. We don’t have the maximum speed compared to the other guys but the throttle is easy to use and I think this is so important for the race.”

The Italian said power delivery was essential, not least with the new fuel consumption rule coming for the 2007 season, with tank capacity slashed from 22 to 21 litres. Rossi again insisted the huge importance fuel consumption will play when the new season gets underway in Qatar on March 10 by adding: “For sure the fuel consumption will be the big issue, maybe the biggest one. Some tracks we will have less problems and some with more.

Qatar is one of the worst and I think for everybody it will be difficult to make 22 laps with 21 litres. This means it’s not possible to use all the power of the engine for the race. I hope we are all in the same situation because it is difficult.”

Took a brand new BMW

Get Your Rudebox!!

Valentino Rossi will leave Jerez tonight with a brand new BMW M car and, more importantly, a crucial psychological advantage over his title rivals after winning the 40 minute qualifying session at Jerez this afternoon.

The five time MotoGP World Champion took the 2007 BMW M Award with scorching 138.394 lap, clocked with just five minutes to go in the session. It is the second time that Rossi has won the award, and an excellent end to a preseason where the 800cc Yamaha M1 has shone brightly.

The Italian had to work for it though, and a vintage display was required to edge out early pacesetter Dani Pedrosa. Repsol Hondas Spanish star had laid down the gauntlet early on by breaking first the 140 then the 139 barrier as he pushed for the top spot.

After seeing Rossi clock his eventual winning time Pedrosa completed a perfect lap at the death, beating his best times at all four timed sections of the circuit. His final fastest lap was 138.527, under two tenths of a second slower than his World Championship rival.

Day Three Combined Official Times
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing) - 1'38.394
2. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) - 1'38.527
3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha Factory Racing) - 1'39.300
4. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) - 1'39.556
5. Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki Racing Team) - 1'39.832
6. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) - 1'39.873
7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) - 1'39.887
8. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) - 1'40.043

Set new record

Five times former world champion Valentino Rossi threw down the gauntlet to his rivals in this year's title race when he set the fastest ever lap at the Jerez circuit in official pre-season testing on Sunday.

The Italian, who lost his crown when he finished as runner-up to Nicky Hayden in last year's championship, smashed the existing circuit best lap with a time of 1 minute 38.394 seconds on his Yamaha.

The new mark was set despite the fact that this season the bikes in the MotoGP class have been reduced in capacity from 990cc to 800cc. The previous best lap was 1:39.064 set by Loris Capirossi on a Ducati in 2006.

Rossi's main title rival Dani Pedrosa of Spain was second quickest, 0.133 down on the Yamaha rider, while the Italian's team mate Colin Edwards clocked the third fastest time.

Champion Hayden, who is still regaining confidence after shoulder surgery, was fourth in the rankings, 1.112 seconds behind Rossi.

"It's magnificent, but of course it doesn't count towards world championship points," Rossi said. "It is the first battle won.

"The new Yamaha is already faster than last year's model and it seems to be effective at every circuit. It is a good starting point for 2007."

Pedrosa told Spanish state television: "I'm delighted, I didn't expect to go this fast. I'm very impressed."

The last official test turned into a shoot out between Rossi and Pedrosa, with the two riders seeking a psychological edge ahead of the season-opening grand prix in Qatar on March 10.

Marco Melandri, who was fastest in testing on Friday and Saturday, dropped down the rankings on the final day. He clocked the 14th fastest time on his Honda.

Rossi stay with Yamaha until 2008

Yamaha Motor Company Ltd and Valentino Rossi will continue to race together until the end of the 2008 season.

The next two seasons will see Rossi ride as part of Yamaha’s Official Factory Team, with which he has already won two MotoGP World Championship titles since joining the Factory in 2004. The Italian, who turns 28 this month, has won 25 Grand Prix during his three seasons with Yamaha and currently stands third in the all-time Grand Prix winners list.

Rossi, who is spearheading the rider development of Yamaha’s new 800cc motorcycle in the run-up to the new MotoGP season, will be back in action next week for Yamaha’s second test of the year in Sepang, Malaysia.

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, commented “We are thrilled to confirm that our partnership with Valentino will continue for a fifth year in 2008, and it’s especially good to have completed all contract negotiations before the start of the rapidly approaching 2007 racing season. This now leaves Valentino free to concentrate solely on the job in hand – winning back the World Championship! The past three years with Valentino have been a huge success for the Yamaha brand worldwide, Valentino is a great champion and there is no doubt in our minds that he remains the best possible person to continue to lead Yamaha’s MotoGP effort for the foreseeable future."

"I'm very happy I renewed the contract with Yamaha until the end of 2008 so now I can just concentrate on racing this season." said Rossi. "I think that last year, when we fought back from what seemed an impossible situation to come so close to taking the title, showed what a fantastic team we are and this is why I want to stay with Yamaha. The past three years with Yamaha have been very positive and this is why I am pleased to stay. The atmosphere in our garage is always relaxed and happy and I think that this is something very special and difficult to find. I have great faith in Yamaha and I am very excited about my future and the future of the 800cc bike with them. We are ready to challenge with the new 800cc and now this agreement gives us the chance to launch this challenge for the next two years'.

Davide Brivio, Team Director of Yamaha Factory Racing, commented: "During the last three seasons we have won on our debut with Valentino in 2004, dominated in 2005 and lost in 2006: to extend the contract for a further year at the end of a difficult season like the last one is the greatest demonstration of the trust Valentino has placed in this Team. This is the great motivation for everyone; Valentino, the engineers, the mechanics, all the staff and, of course, all those who, like me, have lived and continue to live through the victories and the defeats so intensely. We will continue to enjoy ourselves on track and to provide enjoyment for the huge numbers of passionate fans of two-wheeled sport; together we will look forward to the next two seasons with great energy."

Rossi set fastest time in Sepang

Former five-times world champion Valentino Rossi completed the first MotoGP test of 2007 in style on Wednesday, by putting his new Yamaha on top of the timesheets with the fastest ever 800cc lap of Sepang.

Although Rossi and Factory Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards finished the final day a little earlier than usual, both completed their full agenda of work, once again trying several new tyres for Michelin, with Rossi also concentrating on improving the balance of the bike when braking.

Rossi's best time of 2mins 0.936secs was set on a qualifying tyre and is close to his pole position time from last year's grand prix, when he was riding the old 990cc machine. The Italian's nearest rival was Suzuki's John Hopkins, fastest on the opening two days, who clocked a time of 2mins 1.026secs. Edwards, who did not use a qualifying tyre, was eighth fastest with a lap of 2mins 2.266secs.

"Today was another good day for us," declared Rossi at the end of testing. "We concentrated a lot on braking and definitely made some improvements, although I think we can still make it even better and this is something we will work on when we come back here. We had an important technical meeting today and came to some interesting conclusions, which will help Yamaha's engineers to continue to improve our new bike. We've got through our entire programme for this test, including testing many new tyres for Michelin.

"Today I also had the chance to try a qualifying tyre and I was able to go below 2.01; I think that Michelin have done a very good job over the winter. We tried the 16" tyre again and I am still sure that it's good for us, although we still need more time to work on it with Michelin. Overall it's been a very positive test for us."

But whilst most teams will now head straight to Phillip Island for another test, Yamaha has instead elected to miss the Australian outing and instead return to action for the third and final Sepang test on 5th, 6th and 7th February.

"Most of the other teams will go to Phillip Island now, but we will return here in ten days with more new things to test," confirmed Rossi. "We still need to work on the engine, although for this early stage it's very good. So far we have concentrated on power delivery, rather than on the power itself, but this is only the first test of the year so there is plenty more time!"

Edwards also left Malaysia with a smile on his face, having solved his day two concerns by adopting a set-up similar to his team-mate's.

"I'm heading home feeling really happy after three excellent day's work. We didn't do so much today, 22 laps, but it was enough to back up what we've learnt this week and finish feeling sure about everything. We changed direction with tyres a bit today and went towards the package Valentino's been using and that definitely improved things even more; my fastest lap was on a race tyre similar to the one he's been using quite a bit," said the Texan. "We didn't try a qualifier, but I really felt that I got into the 'zone' on the race tyre and that was when my best time came. We tried a new front and a new rear as well and they were both great, the tyre situation in general is really good. We played around a bit with the setting too and tested a few things Valentino's been using, but actually I preferred my setting so we came back to that. So that's it for the first test and it's been really encouraging. A quick rest now and then we'll be back for more!"

"The final conclusion of this test is very positive but we need to keep working hard; we have clear ideas about what we need to do," added team director Davide Brivio. "We're coming back here again soon and we will have new items to test, especially tyres, and we will be able to continue to fine-tune the set-up of the new 800. 10th March is getting closer and closer so we have to just keep on working!"

Happy with new bike

Valentino Rossi declared himself happy with the progress made by Yamaha on their new 800cc bike, despite searing heat on day two of the Moto GP test at Sepang in Malaysia.

With temperatures peaking at a scorching 39 degrees Celsius, the 20 riders present could have been forgiven for staying in the relative cool of their air-conditioned garages. But with heavy rain predicted for the Wednesday, there was little option but to maximise running while the track remained dry.

Five-time world champion Rossi was no different, and completed more than two race distances on his new bike. Rossi said: "Today I made my first long-run with the new bike, because I was worried about the weather for tomorrow. It was important to be able to see the level of the bike over a long distance, so we didn't want to risk waiting for the last day. The temperature at noon was very high and the sun felt like a sword beating down on my helmet, but it was still great fun and I really enjoyed myself!"

The 27-year-old Italian added that the team still had some work to do on both the bike's braking system and on it's reaction to Michelin's new 16 inch front tyre. His American team-mate Colin Edwards went second fastest - only headed by John Hopkins' Suzuki - but found that a radical new set-up he tried during the afternoon did not bear fruit.

Edwards said: "This afternoon was much harder [than the morning] and it was pretty hot out there too. The package I used for the long-run wasn't so good, it definitely wasn't the right direction for the rear tyre and it was hard work for me. Anyway Valentino's package worked well and that's why we're here after all – to work out what does work and what doesn't!"