MotoGP: Rossi ready to race after ‘challenging’ winter

Valentino Rossi says he’s glad we’re finally at the opening round of the 2017 MotoGP season after a winter of testing that the nine-time world champion described as ‘challenging,’ after struggling to get the best out of his Yamaha M1.

Struggling to make a mark on the timing screens as he tried to come to terms with a new chassis designed to give greater tyre life, the Italian is as always more confident to go racing than he is to test and practice.

“I’m very happy that the season finally starts. It‘s been a busy winter, challenging, and now I really need to race. Our bike has improved a lot during the winter and, although we are not yet OK, we will work hard during the next few days in Qatar to be ready for the start of the first race of the season. We will see what the weather conditions will be like and then we will try to find the best set-up possible. I‘m confident that together with the team we will be ready for Sunday.”

However, despite his rider’s reservations going into the season, team boss Massimo Meregalli says that morale in the squad, both on Rossi and teammate maverick Viñales’ side of the garage, is high.

“After months of testing, this first race is something we all have been living towards. We are finally going to start the 2017 championship, which promises to become quite a spectacle thanks to the strong field of riders and the diversity in manufacturers that compete at the top. After our last test at the Losail International Circuit a fortnight ago we got even more excited to begin the season. Maverick and Vale are incredibly motivated and in great physical shape, so they and their team crews are itching to jump into action.

“As always, the first race of the season will be particularly telling. It will be vital to make a good start to the championship and it will be very interesting to see where we stand in a head-to-head fight with our competitors. We already have some ideas of what we would like to work on over the first few days of the Qatar GP to prepare for the race. We are confident we will be able to give the Yamaha fans a good opening show!”