Q&A: Valentino Rossi.

Testing gets underway this weekend ahead of the 2005 MotoGP season at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Defending title holder Valentino Rossi answered questions ahead of the upcoming championship season and the opening test of the year...

Q:
Are you looking forward to the first test and getting back to work after the holiday?

Valentino Rossi:
For sure it's good to be back. The holiday was good, although not long enough, but it's time to restart now. The work that we do during the winter is very important; we have a new bike and it's important to develop it during this time, and we will start tomorrow. Once the races begin it's more difficult and there is not time for much testing.

Q:
What would you like to achieve during this first test; do you have any specific goals for your team?

VR:
Nothing specific, but it's an important test for us because it's the first of the year and because many of the other teams are here. I've been off the bike for two months so we need to try to understand it again, do some race simulations and test some tyres.

Q:
Will you continue working with both the 2004 and 2005-spec bikes during this first test?

VR:
We have the 2004 M1 here for reference, which is useful. It worked well here last year; we won the race and always did fast lap times so it will be interesting to compare it to the new bike and it will help us to understand which parts have improved.

Q:
You and Colin Edwards have been a successful team in the past, are you looking forward to sharing a garage with him this season?

VR:
I'm happy to be with Colin, although I enjoyed being team-mates with Checa, too. Colin is probably my best friend amongst the riders, he's a good guy and he's fast. I think that we will be able to help each other to get faster. When we raced in the Suzuka Eight-Hour together, we discovered that we're not so different and we like a similar set-up, so the engineers will have more data to share between them this year.

Q:
During this first test you will be testing alongside most of your MotoGP competitors, including HRC and Ducati. Are you pleased to have the chance to compare yourself to your rivals this early in the season?

VR:
In some ways it's better to be alone, as it's quieter and we can work better without always worrying about the lap-times of the other riders. But it's also good to have the reference of the others' times, right from the start of the season.

Q:
Do you think the extended calendar in 2005 will affect the riders and make the season much harder, and are you looking forward to racing at the new circuits in China and Laguna Seca?

VR:
In my opinion we are at the limit now, and 17 races is really too much. With all the testing that we do now, it means we're always on the bike and it's quite difficult. However I am looking forward to the two new Grands Prix; both Shanghai and Laguna Seca are fantastic tracks and it will be good to race at them.