MotoGP news

Rossi hoping to rectify situation in Australia

Championship leader Valentino Rossi hopes to be back on the podium again this weekend as the MotoGP field travels to Australia for Round 15 of the 2009 championship. The Italian faced problems at Estoril although expectations for Phillip Island, one of his favourite tracks, are much higher.

Rossi suffered huge disappointment last time out when he was plagued with rear grip issues, which stopped him from making a competitive challenge. He has taken six wins so far this season - and holds a cushion of 18 points over team-mate Jorge Lorenzo - but knows that a lot can happen in three races and therefore he and his crew will be working tirelessly to ensure that they do not suffer a repeat of their Portuguese difficulties.

Rossi cites Phillip Island as one of his favourite tracks and has stood on the podium ten times in all classes, including an unbeaten five-year winning streak in MotoGP and title winning rides in 2001 and 2004. Last year he blasted through the field from the fourth row to finish second and will be hoping to go one better this time, having not won there since 2006.

Speaking about the upcoming Grand Prix weekend Rossi said: "Estoril was a great disappointment but we have to look at the positive and consider that we still came fourth and took 13 points in these conditions. I know that Yamaha have been studying the data very hard to understand what went wrong for us, and we hope that the situation in Phillip Island will be very different.

"I love this track and have some of the greatest memories of my career there and I really want to be in the best shape for this race. It's too long since I've won there! I think that the championship is going to be a great fight to the end with Lorenzo, but the next two tracks especially are two of my best."

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