By Steve Parrish BBC motorbikes commentator

Capirossi and Melandri have shown signs they could be a danger to Rossi in 2006 Steve Parrish

If one race summed up a season, it was Valentino Rossi's win in Qatar.

Rossi didn't need to finish first there, and as the championship was already won, there was no pressure on the rest of the field.

But once again, when the chips were down, Sete Gibernau span off, Marco Melandri faltered and Rossi sped into the sunset.

I suppose after all this time I shouldn't be surprised at his consistency week in, week out, but the fact is I am in awe of it.

It's no secret that the ease of this year's championship has been the source of considerable embarrassment among his fellow riders in the pit lane.

And it's not as if they don't have the talent or the bikes to compete - Rossi has won 10 times this season but Alex Barros, Nicky Hayden and Loris Capirossi have all also finished first.

They have the skills and the speed but there's an inner fire that is missing.

And bear in mind too how dangerous this sport is. We all love it but the fact is that a mistake at a chicane or a blown tyre at full speed can finish you off, it's as simple as that.

The guys may sport stylish helmets and Kevlar suits but the fact remains a high-speed crash can be lethal.

In the past many guys might have stepped off the gas once the title was in the bag, but not Rossi. He only knows one way to race and it leaves the rest of the field with no chance.

MotoGP from Australia Race: Sun, BBC Two, 1225 Rossi makes it ten

That said, I have been impressed with his fellow Italians Capirossi and Marco Melandri.

The Italians live and breathe this sport and if they can control their naturally fiery temperament in the same way Rossi does he could face a challenge next year.

By winning successive races in Japan and Malaysia Capirossi gave us a taste of what we could expect from him on the Ducati.

He is signed up for next season and we can only hope that he takes his recent form through to 2006.

Melandri has real potential and has an air of confidence around him - he's not scared of Rossi and he lets him know that.

That may well be the carefree airs of youth, but he's a superb rider and importantly seems to enjoy what he's doing.

How he fares at Philip Island will depend on his tyres. The Australian circuit really tests them to the limit and it could be another battle between Bridgestone and Michelin.

Melandri uses the latter, which seem to be the best overall package, but Bridgestone do have a habit of coming up with a surprise.

With three races left there could be a danger that the 2005 season goes a bit flat, but I don't see that happening, simply because of Rossi's dominance.

There are scores of riders and teams out there who know they haven't performed, and time is running out.