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Valentino Rossi t-shirt
Yellow Valentino Rossi t-shirt, featuring sun and moon symbols on sleeves. Made of 100% cotton, VR-46 logo on the chest.
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YZR-M1 Valentino Rossi 2008
Diecast model of Valentino Rossi 2008 Yamaha YZR-M1 in scale 1:12 from Minichamps. Get this fantastic bike Rossi rode to 2008 MotoGP title.
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2007-03-05 MotoGP riders about forthcomming season opener
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 MotoGP World Championship begins next weekend as the most eagerly anticipated season in recent history finally fires up in Qatar. Saturday's race is the first of eighteen mouth-watering events across thirteen countries and four continents that will decide the destiny of the most coveted prize in motorcycle racing. For the first time since the turn of the millennium, Rossi starts out as a challenger to the throne. Read claims of the riders before MotoGP opener.
MotoGP World Championship begins next weekend as the most eagerly anticipated season in recent history finally fires up in Qatar. Saturday's race is the first of eighteen mouth-watering events across thirteen countries and four continents that will decide the destiny of the most coveted prize in motorcycle racing. For the first time since the turn of the millennium, Rossi starts out as a challenger to the throne. Read claims of the riders before MotoGP opener.
Valentino Rossi - "Fast and fun"
After the great test in Jerez we're going to the first race feeling confident and happy," says Rossi. "Last year we had some problems at the final test that left us feeling worried going to the first race but more than anything Jerez proved that we're in a very different situation to last year and confirmed the great job we've done with the new M1 over the winter. Now it's finally time for the first race and it's time to see if all our hard work pays off. Everyone is very excited and very motivated after what happened last year and our aim is very simple - to win!
I like Qatar a lot, it's fast and fun to ride and I have won there twice. Of course it's quite hot and dusty so tyre choice will be very important, especially with the new rules. The other key factor is going to be the fuel consumption - I think it is something everybody is worried about this season but we are all in the same boat. We know the bike should work well at the first two races but the championship is very long. Dani Pedrosa has looked the most consistent in testing but I think Nicky Hayden, Loris Capirossi and my own team-mate Colin Edwards will be in the fight for the title.
Colin Edwards - "A level playing field"
Qatar is a great track, I love it and I always feel that it's a level playing field because we've only been there a few times as opposed to some of the European circuits where other riders have basically grown up," observes Edwards. "I'm feeling really confident going back there for the first race, especially after our last test there when I was pretty fast every day, and the progress we made at Jerez last week. The track suits my style and I felt really comfortable there during the test, so hopefully we can translate that to the race conditions.
We had some problems in the race last year but I am feeling completely different now because this bike is a whole new ballgame. After working really well on smooth tracks like Sepang and Qatar we managed to adopt it to the bumps at Jerez with a completely different setting so I'm really confident that we have a great package for the whole season. I've said throughout pre-season that the target this season is to win races, so I'm looking forward to getting started.
Nicky Hayden:
Well the waiting’s over and I’m fired up to go racing again. It’s going to be a proud moment lining up with that number one plate on the front of my bike – it’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid. But really that’s last year’s story and we’ve got to come out of the gate fast and fight to defend this title right from the first session because the competition in MotoGP is so intense. There’s no time to take the glory and relax. We were quick in some of the tests over the winter and made some good progress with this new bike, though the test here at Qatar didn’t go too smoothly! So I’m going to have to raise my game starting this weekend. Nevertheless, it’s actually a track I quite like and I had a pretty good race here last season. There are a couple of long right-handers that are fun to ride and I really like the sequence of Turns one, two and three with the banking. I’ve had a third place here and was second last year so we’ll be aiming to go one better on Saturday. I’ve faith in the boys in my corner and I’m working really well with Pete Benson and the rest of the crew. Plus I know Honda’s going to be giving everything to keep this crown so we won’t be holding anything back. The shoulder’s pretty much fixed up now and, though I haven’t got all the movement back, it’s plenty strong enough to ride the bike – we’ve put in a lot of miles since the operation and it’s felt stronger every time. I’m feeling ready for the lights to go out and looking forward to going toe to toe with the boys again.
Dani Pedrosa:
It seems like the start of the season has come round very quickly and I’m really looking forward to racing again after all the tests we’ve done over the winter. It will be interesting to finally see how the new 800s feel during a race. I’ve enjoyed riding the RC212V in testing and the smaller size allows me to move around the bike more easily than the 990. My race here last year was not so satisfying because I had a bad start which hindered me throughout the race. I had a very long battle with Melandri which was enjoyable but frustrating too because it meant I couldn’t get closer to the front at the end of the race. The conditions at this track can be difficult. Often there is a strong wind and this means you have to be very careful how you ride otherwise you might get blown off the track. Also the sand can change the grip levels too. We had a positive test here in February and found a good setting for the bike so I hope that the conditions will be similar this weekend. I feel like I’m ready for the season but there have been many teams going fast during testing through the winter so I expect the racing to be very close.
Alex Barros:
I’m anxious to get the 2007 World Championship started! The tests in Qatar went very well for us, and we found a good race setting and a good tire solution, also; this make me very confident that we are able to make a good performance. Despite one year away from MotoGP, I reached good feeling with my Ducati GP7 almost immediately, at the first winter test of '07. I’m deeply motivated and I can't wait to mix it up again with the fastest riders in the world!
Alex Hofmann:
I’m ready and very excited to get down to the track! For us, it's very important start the season well from the very first race. We have solid foundation to start from, thanks to the excellent test we just had this past month at this circuit. This track itself isn’t very fast, and there are lots of direction changes, so for this reason it's important to have an agile and balanced bike. I really love this kind of course, where our tires work really well, and I hope to performance at my best and obtain excellent results. This year is very important for me, because with the material at our disposition we can be highly competitive. I want do my best, and forget about the past!
Randy de Puniet:
After such a heavy test schedule I'm really looking forward to finally getting down to racing again. I think we've shown our competitiveness over the past few weeks and I'm happy with the performance of both our Ninja ZX-RR and myself. The test is Qatar went well, although we struggled a little with identifying a race tyre, but we were able to do some more work on this at Jerez where we made a big step forward. We're still missing a bit of top speed, which will be a slight handicap at Qatar with the long straight, but we've already shown that we can make up this deficit through the turns thanks to the balanced handling of our bike. The track at Qatar is normally quite dirty, which means there is normally only one racing line. This means that it's difficult to overtake and makes a good starting position even more important. I will be looking to qualify as high up the grid as possible, and I will be happy if we leave Qatar with a top ten finish in the opening race of the season.
Olivier Jacque:
I can't wait for the first race; I'm really excited about making my racing return at Qatar. We've had a good pre-season; progressing and always evolving after each test, now we need to carry that momentum into the opening race. Losail is a special circuit for me. I have done many tests in Qatar, and despite the fact that I've crashed there a few times I really like the circuit. It's a good track, fast and flat, although it can also be tricky because the wind blows sand onto the track, making surface conditions unpredictable. There is a long main straight, and our top speed is not yet the best, but I think we can compensate for this through corner speed, which has proved to be one of the strengths of the new Ninja ZX-RR during testing. My target for the coming weekend is to improve my lap times, gain some consistency and battle it out with one of the groups in the race. I don't know if a top ten finish is possible, as I'm still not completely up to race speed, but I'm sure it's going to be a close and fun race. This race is sure to give me a boost; I have been waiting a long time to be part of a full factory team and I want to make the most of this opportunity, starting this weekend.
John Hopkins:
I am slowly getting back to fitness and I’m ready to get to work in Qatar. I was gutted to miss the final test as we still had a bit of work to do and I really wanted to go for the car, but it was the best thing to do as I need to be ready for this weekend. Chris worked hard in Jerez and we learnt some stuff about tyres so we have an idea of what to use here in Qatar. I am more excited for this first race than I have ever been in my career and I need to get out there and start showing what the Suzuki and I can do!
Chris Vermeulen:
Qatar is an unusual circuit and one that we have struggled at a bit before, but I am sure with the new bike and the latest tyres we will make some sort of impact this year. I have raced here in MotoGP and Superbikes so it is a track that I know quite well. It is going to be tough out there because of the heat, wind and dust but it’s also a track that gives good, fast racing and I hope that we can push the Suzukis right up there to the front.
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