Valentino Rossi fit and ready for Le Mans

A fully fit Valentino Rossi is hoping he can forget a nightmare French MotoGP last year to mount a strong challenge for glory in Le Mans this weekend.

Last year’s flag-to-flag race was a disaster for the Fiat Yamaha rider who crashed out of the lead and then got punished for speeding in the pitlane in an unforgettable encounter.

Rossi eventually finished 16th but is hoping for better luck this weekend having finished on the podium in both races so far in 2010.

The Italian, who seems certain to sign a new contract with Yamaha for next season, won the opening race in Qatar and was third last time out at a thrilling Spanish GP at Jerez.

And the two-week break before Le Mans has at least given Rossi precious time to get his injured right shoulder back to 100 per cent.

Rossi damaged ligaments in the shoulder when suffered a motocross training accident in Italy last month, but he said: “My shoulder is more or less recovered now so I hope I will be back to full strength in Le Mans.

“Despite the disaster of last year’s race, Le Mans is a good track for me and the Yamaha always goes well there. The biggest problem is the weather, but after last year I think we deserve a sunny French GP!

“We’ve made a good start to the season, with the win in Qatar and then another podium, but we have also struggled with the bike in some areas and so we need to try to improve our performance.

“We had a good test after Jerez so I hope that we will be able to use that information to start strongly here.”