No decision on shoulder yet

Having been hampered by shoulder damage from an April Motocross crash for most of the year, Rossi has openly pondered pulling out of the final few rounds of 2010 to have surgery to ensure that he is in top condition for his move to Ducati next season.

But amid rumours that he could stop racing as early as this weekend's Sepang event, Rossi insisted that he had not made any firm plans yet - beyond definitely racing at Philip Island and then considering whether to ride at Estoril and Valencia or to head straight for surgery.

"For sure I will go to Australia, and I'd say 99 per cent, almost for sure, if I don't have any extra pain I will finish the season," said Rossi.

Having struggled badly at Aragon, he was thrilled to discover that his shoulder was not much of an issue at Motegi, where he finished third, last weekend. He believes this weekend's Sepang event will be another vital test.

"I'm very curious to understand the potential and the pain from my shoulder here at Sepang because it's a difficult track," said Rossi. "I dominated the winter test when I was at 100 per cent, so I hope there's not a lot of pain and I can try to fight for the victory."