Rossi third after break

Valentino Rossi finished third fastest on the opening day of the Sepang test as he revealed his seven-week break saw his wretched run of bad luck continue.

After a season of misfortune in 2006 that contributed to him surrendering the MotoGP world championship for the first time since 2001, 

Rossi’s luck didn’t enjoy much of an upturn during the winter testing ban.

The Italian, who set a best time of 2.03.18 on the first day in Malaysia as he began the quest to regain the MotoGP world championship, said: “I was a little bit unlucky with the weather. 

“In December I went to Miami for the sun and it was always raining, and then in January I went to the mountains in north Italy to snowboard and it never snowed. 

“Luckily there was artificial snow anyway so it was not too bad. But I still had a lot of fun and stayed with my friends. 

“It has been 15 years that we have made this holiday and it’s the best holiday.

“During the day we snowboard and at night I just relax with my closest friends. It was very good to charge the batteries and take some power for the year ahead.”