Rossi gears up for title defence

MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi may not completely happy with his new Gauloises Yamaha M1 but he is still planing on dominating the title race again this season.

The Italian will be in Australia tomorrow to begin three days of pre-season testing, along with American team-mate Colin Edwards.

On the way to Phillip Island, Rossi and Edwards visited Tokyo for the official launch of their new bikes.

"We have done a lot of test runs during the off-season. Things aren't quite 100 per cent yet, but the machine and the engine are already much better than last year," said Rossi.

"I hope I can win the title again this year on this new bike, but winning is never easy.

"I was very happy to win nine rounds in last year's championship and I think that is a good target for this year too. I hope everyone will be cheering for me."

Edwards is returning to Yamaha after a seven-year absence which has seen him win two World Superbike Championships for Honda, before moving to MotoGP with Aprilia last season.

Edwards, who recently turned 31, is pleased to be back with Yamaha for the first time since 1998.

"I was last with Yamaha in the 1998 season in the World Superbike Championship and I am very happy to be back," said Edwards.

"I saw how good the team and machine were last year, so I was excited when I got the offer to come back to the Yamaha side.

"I am also glad there will be a US round at Laguna Seca this year for the first time in a while.

"I hope to have a bit of an advantage there - but I will be giving my best shot in all the races."

Rossi begins his title defence at Jerez in Spain on 10 April.