 Rossi is keen to put two years of disappointment behind him |
Valentino Rossi says he will be a serious title contender once again when the new MotoGP season starts on Sunday. The Yamaha rider won the world title from 2002-2005 but threatened to leave the team last season after mechanical problems scuppered his title chances.
"I said it was impossible to continue like last year and I wanted more effort in the winter," he told BBC Sport.
"They responded beautifully, improving all the bad places. It's just the start of the work but I'm quite confident."
Until the last two seasons, the Italian had set the standard in competitive motorbike racing, and he will hope to do so again when the 2008 season starts under floodlights in Qatar.
 | QATAR MOTOGP Season preview: Sunday BBC TWO and BBC Sport website, 1410-1440
125cc, 250cc races live: Sunday, BBCi (Freeview channel 302) and BBC Sport newsletter, 1645-1915
Race live: Sunday, BBC THREE, BBCi and BBC Sport website, 1930-2100
Race highlights: Sunday, BBC TWO, 0000-0100
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In 2006 Rossi saw his title chances dashed when he crashed in a dramatic finale on the last day of the season and handed the title to American Nicky Hayden.
But 2007 was a year to forget, as a string of technical glitches saw Rossi finish third in the standings, 126 points behind champion Casey Stoner, with Spain's Dani Pedrosa second.
It was the first time he had finished outside the top two in a championship since his debut season in 1996, and rounded off a year of few highlights for the Italian.
"Last year I remember Mugello, Jerez and Assen, but the rest of the year I was struggling too much," he said.
"I was very worried. I told Yamaha that my first idea is to try and finish my career with the team, because I feel very good there, but if I didn't have a good bike, I would have to change.
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"From this moment on, they made a good effort. It's early to say, because we have great rivals, who are very strong, but our start is beautiful. We've done good winter work and had good tests and the change to Bridgestone tyres is very important."
Rossi admits that problems with his Michelin tyres caused him to lose confidence in his bike, and made the team "stupid," so the decision was made to use Bridgestone for the coming year.
 Rossi has a glass of champage after his last world title win in 2005 |
This, combined with an overhaul of the backroom staff, has given him renewed enthusiasm for the coming year.
"We have a perfect team. It's smaller than last year but all the people who work for me, I like a lot. The sensation is like 2004, my first year with Yamaha," he said.
Something else that has changed in the Yamaha camp this season is the departure of long-time friend and team-mate Colin Edwards, and his replacement by 250cc world champion Jorge Lorenzo.
"Your team-mate is always your first rival, so having Lorenzo here is a great motivation - he's a fast rider."
As well as hopefully having an improved bike for 2007, Rossi has relocated to Italy from London and is finally free of the financial problems which dogged him last season, after agreeing to pay �26m in back taxes over the next two years.
"It was a difficult period on the track and outside," he admitted.
"We had some problems but I've wanted to return to Italy since the end of 2005.
| 2006 and 2007 have been difficult, so this year it's possible to make things work better |
"I spent a lot of time in London, which is fantastic, but year by year, as you get older, you want to spend more time with your family and friends and live a normal life.
"I tried to come back earlier, but it wasn't possible - I think the tax problems accelerated coming back.
"In the end I'm happy - if it's possible to use that word when you're paying �26m! I'm more quiet and concentrated on the race track.
"In the last two years there have been a lot problems, with some difficult things outside the track. 2006 and 2007 have been difficult, so this year it's possible to make things work better."
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