Yamaha revert to old M1

ByReuters

Published 27/03/2006 at 11:05 GMT

Yamaha have brought Valentino Rossi's 2005 bike out of retirement to help the MotoGP champion overcome problems with his new machine. The 27-year-old Italian fell at the first corner and finished 14th in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, the first time in six years that he has not won the season-opener.

2006 Spanish GP Yamaha Rossi

Image credit: Reuters

Rossi stayed on at the Jerez circuit on Monday for an afternoon of testing, completing 72 laps including some on last year's YZR-M1.

"We decided to have Valentino ride the 2005 M1 for a few laps so we could compare its performance at this track with that of the new bike," said team boss Davide Brivio.

"It was interesting to see the difference. A few things about the '05 bike are better at the moment, but overall it seems the '06 bike is still a more improved package.

Motorcycling